


Friendship Status

by Addict_of_Animation



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Brotherly Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-01 21:24:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10930320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Addict_of_Animation/pseuds/Addict_of_Animation
Summary: Heiji believes his status as Shinichi's best friend is threatened when he meets Kaito for the first time.





	1. Prologue: Swordsman meets Magician

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is my third fanfiction story. Yay! On to this story's point. I have always pictured Heiji as the possessive best friend type. He always has to prove to others that he is Shinichi's only best friend. I can actually picture Heiji trying to pick a fight with Kaito just to prove that he will remain Shinichi's best friend and won't give up his spot for anyone. Kaito would just be a precious little thing and would try to tell Hattori that he was only a normal friend and had no intention of taking the tan boy's place, but Heiji would never listen and would compete with him in almost anything! Eventually Kaito just gives up while he only gets more and more confused and Shinichi becomes increasingly irritated. And don't worry, Hakuba will be involved in later chapters!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the story!
> 
> Disclaimer: I forgot to put this in my last two stories, so please forgive me Gosho-sensei! I, in no shape nor form, own the Detective Conan or Magic Kaito franchise. If I did, not every episode would involve a murder. Let Shinichi relax for once! Not to mention that the Gosho Boys would meet up more often and sooner or later become sort of friends (considering the fact that Hattori and Hakuba are always going at each others throats like wild animals).

Shinichi had always been a magnet of death, but for the first time in his life, as he watched as Hattori glare down Kaito, who was making the adorable expression of a confused puppy (head tilt and all), he actually wanted to be the one to murder somebody for once. Namely a certain Osakan detective who was acting like a complete ass to an innocent bystander.

"Hattori," he growled. This was getting tiring very fast. "Leave Kaito alone. What did he ever do to you? You guys just met, like, not even five minutes ago!" It was a stupid question and with how Shinichi's blood pressure was rising, he didn't actually feel like hearing what his friend had to say.

The day had actually started out so simple before Hattori had decided to show up.

-(o0o)-

With a yawn, Edogawa Conan - who was actually the high school detective, Kudou Shinichi - slowly rose from his futon. Unsurprisingly, it looked more like he was rising from the dead. Or he was an angry demon with how his face looked as it warped into a twisted expression of pre-morning coffee and sleepiness. While scary on his normal face, it was an oddly endearing look on a child.

_**(Or maybe the fact that the author was a complete loon for adorable children. Yeah, let's go with that... Back to the story.)** _

He gave an exasperated huff and, with what little strength he could muster from his just awakened body, made his trek to the kitchen. The quest for coffee was the only thing occupying his sleep-riddled mind.

But when he finally reached the kitchen that connected with the living room, he was met with a surprising sight that immediately snapped him to full awareness.

Standing in the middle of the living room was Kaitou KID, or Kudou Shinichi. The thief had apparently decided to pay another surprise visit. But, the thief had also forgotten the one flaw with his disguise:

Mouri Ran, Shinichi's childhood friend and current crush.

Who also loved him back.

"Oh my gosh, Shinichi! You never told me you were coming over! How long are you going to be staying?" Each sentence was said in such quick succession that Conan was actually surprised that he could actually tell what Ran was even saying.

And she was currently squeezing the life out of the poor teen by giving him the biggest hug she could muster, half out of relief to see him and half for revenge for 'Shinichi' being gone for so long.

Conan had to hold back a laugh.

He had befriended the thief on a heist night, ironically. The thief had bitten off more than he could chew when several Black Organization members had surrounded him with weapons drawn. Apparently, they had wanted the jewel he had stolen that night rather badly.

Conan had just happened to show up with several other Kaitou KID Task Force members himself. Just the appearance had caused the men to scatter instead of fight back like Conan had actually been half expecting to happen. Baffled by the unknown party, Nakamori-keibu had demanded to know what was going on. KID had been uncharacteristically serious as he told them not to get involved. The haunted look on the thief's face had stirred something in Shinichi and he found himself unable to just let the man go that night.

The chase had been a bit of a blur, but the confrontation was still fresh in the teen's brain. He had tracked the gentleman thief all the way back to his house. He didn't remember how he had gotten in, but he definitely remembered what KID's face looked like when he looked up from where he had been dressing his wounds. It had been priceless and Conan definitely would have laughed if he hadn't spotted the flow of crimson that was quickly reddening the sleeve of his silken shirt.

Needless to say that Shinichi had stayed and a talk had been had. It was long and complicated and very revealing. While Shinichi had been more than a little nonplussed to find out that KID knew who he was, he was even more thrown for a loop when the thief told him about why he was KID and not anywhere near as old as he should be. The lack of top hat and monocle only revealed a face as young as his own and the story only proved that KID was indeed as old as himself.

After the story, Shinichi was left in awe. It's not every day that you find out that your rival was actually practically a moonlighting vigilante who was trying to take down the same organization that you were. Or what they were really after. He had even learned KID's real name; Kuroba Kaito.

But when Shinichi watched as KID looked longingly at the poster of his role model on the bedroom wall, he had made his decision right then. The decision to help the thief.

That night they had called a truce and KID had taken him back to the detective agency. Ran had been frantic when she couldn't find him. But when she had seen Kaito, who had been disguised as Shinichi himself, she had glomped him. Needless to say, Conan was very upset, but the flustered and pleading expression on the other boy's face was worth it. He obviously wasn't used to being treated in such a way.

It eventually turned into a game since then. Kaito would take his place when needed or when he felt like coming over for a visit. It seemed that he had decided to keep up the Shinichi disguise because it actually helped Ran calm down. She became less worried and it also benefited Shinichi because Kaito could go and collect his homework for him from his school. It was during the moments that 'Shinichi' took 'Conan' out for a while that he actually caught up on his work.

He was actually going to graduate high school on time at this rate.

He was shaken from his musings when he heard a thud. Looking up, he found Ran standing over an almost passed out phantom thief who looked like he had just watched a particularly gory film with how terrified his face was. This time, Conan did laugh.

The sound of his laughter had snapped KID out of his fear and he turned a mild glare in his 'cousin's' direction. He was obviously not finding the situation as humorous as the shrunken teen.

This only made Conan laugh harder.

Ran looked distraught and very worried. She was apologizing profusely, "Oh my god! Shinichi, I'm so sorry!" The poor girl looked close to tears. Relenting to the power of the doe eyes that only girl's and small children seemed to be able to pull off, Kaito had reassured her that he was fine. Sadly, his words of comfort didn't seem to help and she had rushed off to buy an ice pack from the nearest convenience store.

By this point, Conan was laughing so hard that he was close to passing out from the lack of air. Apparently, the kaitou had decided that enough was enough. He crawled across the floor quickly and snatched Conan into his arms. The young detective only had a second to register his situation before KID dug his fingers into the child's sides. With a surprised yelp, they non-child once again was dragged into peals of laughter.

"If you want to laugh, I'll give you something to laugh about!"

The thief's indigo eyes were alight with mischievous glee as he watched the small detective in his arms weakly trying to remove his opponent's fingers from his person. It only gained fruitless results, but at least Conan could say he tried.

And that was when Hattori burst through the door with a loud, "Hattori Heiji has arrived, Kudou! Prepare yerself fer-"

His sentence died as he took in the image displayed before him.

Big Kudou. Little Kudou. In the same room. Big Kudou was playing with Little Kudou. Little Kudou was sitting in Big Kudou's lap and was obviously trying to get away. It didn't take a genius to see where the Osakan's thoughts were going.

" **WHO THE HELLA YOU?!** "

Kaito flinched at the furious cry of accusation. Was Tantei-han always this loud? The sudden cry had been so loud that Kaito had almost flung Shinichi off of his lap when his body jerked in shock.

Conan went from pleading for mercy to apprehensive. He had forgotten to tell Hattori that he had made a new friend. Or maybe he had just not felt like dealing with a situation like this one. He turned his gaze to his tanned friend and, with a resigned voice, tried to explain the situation. "Hattori, this is Kuroba Kaito, my friend from Ekoda. He was just coming over for a visit so cool your jets before you break something." The final sentence was said with fond resignation as he knew that it would take a little more than that to calm his friend down.

Kaito seemed to catch on. He had never met Tantei-han in his civilian form, so he knew how this must look since the Osakan was aware of Kudou's predicament. He decided to play dumb for now and tell the detective later if he proved to be trustworthy.

"Ah, you're Hattori-kun? Nice to meet you!" he chirped. He made sure that his voice held all the right tones so that he came across as a non-aggressive assailant who appeared to be trying to kidnap a small child from his home.

It didn't seem to work.

Hattori only narrowed his dark eyes as he seemed to scan Kaito's form (much to the younger teen's discomfort). He took in everything about the shorter boy and seemed to be making a criminal profile in his mind. Suddenly his eyes widened as he looked into the startled teen's eyes.

"YER FRIENDS WITH THE KAITOU KID?!"

The exclamation had been so loud that Kaito actually let go of Shinichi so that he could raise his hands to his ears in a desperate attempt to save his eardrums. It did little to help, however, when it didn't really block the other boy out very well. However, the pseudo-child seemed unaffected by the shout, only narrowed his eyes and hissed, "Be quiet, ahou! Are you trying to get him arrested?"

The look on the detective's face crinkled as his expression changed from furious to shocked confusion. "Ya knew he was Kaitou KID an' ya didn' turn 'im in?!" Kaito was just silently rejoicing that the voices had finally quieted before he lost his hearing. But at Tantei-kun's next words, he felt something inside him melt.

"Of course not! Why would I turn my friend into the police, ahou?!"

Kaito's widened eyes found themselves boring into the back of Conan's head.

_Tantei-kun considers us friends... Tantei-kun just said..._

Even though the two had called a truce, Kaito hadn't been willing to think that Shinichi would ever accept him as a real friend. While their game of cat mouse had been going on, the thief had long since stopped seeing Edogawa Conan as a threat and more of a friendly rival. They were intellectual equals and both were trying to protect had something they would die to protect and a childhood friend they held very dear. It was kinda creepy at first when Kaito had discovered just how much they had in common.

But for Conan to actually call him a friend...

Suddenly, Kaito could feel his face burning as a stupid grin proceeded to split it in half. In order to hide his expression, he quickly buried his face in the child's hair as he tightened his hold around the boy's midsection. He felt Conan stiffen before he remembered who was holding him and let the tension completely bleed out of his body. It only made Kaito's grin even larger at the show of complete trust.

However, Conan was confused and concerned. Was Hattori scaring Kaito that much? He had seen how the younger boy reacted toward violent people, so what was it about Hattori that set the thief on edge?

Hattori, who had thankfully not seen the look on Kaito's face before he had buried it in his best friend's hair, only hardened his glare. Kudou already trusted this guy that much already? This guy was an international thief for crying out loud! He was bad news! What if this was all a trap? Kudou would be in really big danger!

Hattori made up his mind.

He was going to make sure that that no good criminal wasn't taking his place.

And make sure that he knew that he wasn't welcome here.

* * *

**_To Be Continued..._ **

 


	2. All His Fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is the next chapter guys! We made it to chapter two! Oh my gosh! I have been contemplating what to do about the first official chapter of it. You all have this person for this chapter, so be sure to check out their stories.  
> kibaxkaori: This was a really good start. I think a spin-off - maybe prequel - detailing Conan and Kaito's meeting right after that heist would be good, though. It sounded kind of rushed when you summarized it. I like how you have Kaito openly impersonating Shinichi; I don't see many authors do that. I also like fanfics that consider how "Shinichi" is dealing with his high school classwork issues, too. It makes sense that it would be something he worries about. Great work! Can't wait to read more. XD
> 
> Be sure to enjoy yourselves now. It's show time!

_Two Months Earlier_

It was supposed to be a heist just like any other. Conan had always seen heists as a release of frustration, a way to just let out all his pent up anger and all of his negative emotions through misplaced aggression. Mainly by aiming it all at a certain phantom thief.

What he hadn't expected was to be in a situation like this.

Just like usual, KID had shown up and taunted the police as he snatched the gem from its display case. Before he had ran off, he had filled the room with smoke and had made a dash for the large double doors that led to his escape route. It hadn't been very hard to keep up with the thief, at least for Conan. Most of the task force was captured in the numerous traps that were laid about for them to fall into. By the time they reached the staircase, only twenty or so members were left, including Conan himself.

That was the first oddity. KID never let any of the Kaitou KID Task Force survive his traps and there were even less of them than usual. And when the thief had dashed out of the room, he had been slower than usual. Was KID losing his touch?

Conan only found himself scoffing at the thought. KID never lost his touch, so that only left a few options. A.) KID was going easy on the Task Force for once. B.) Something was distracting KID enough that he not only set very few traps, but also slowed his pace enough that both he and Nakamori-keibu had been able to keep up with the thief very easily.

 _Most likely option B_ , Conan found himself thinking. He faintly remembered the look on KID's face when he had dropped off the display case. The thief's eyebrow had creased slightly and his mouth had twitched in a suppressed grimace. He had also been favoring his right side in such a discrete way, that the child had almost missed it. Was the thief wounded?

He didn't humor the thought very much before the sight of the door to the rooftop came into view. He almost stopped when he noticed something very wrong. The door was still open slightly ajar, giving away a vague view of the buildings across the street. KID never left the door open, not if he wanted the Task Force to catch up faster since the door being closed would at least slow them down long enough for him to jump.  
Something must have gone wrong.

With a sudden uneasy feeling (the kind he only got when he knew something really bad was about to happen), Shinichi found himself running even faster and ignored the shouts of disbelief from the Task Force. When he finally reached the exit, Shinichi slammed his little body for all it was worth against the door, making it swing wide open.

With a deafening BAM!, the door collided with the wall and gained the attention of said phantom thief.

Along with the three or four gunmen who were holding him at gun point.

Conan froze.

_Completely black outfits._

_Fedoras._

_Murderous aura._

_Cold eyes._

_**Black Organization.** _

The leader, or at least he looked like it, only grinned when he saw the 'child'. His grin had the sharpness that KID always lacked, the dangerous edge that seemed to pass smug satisfaction and entered the territory of a real criminal. He was someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill a little boy.

The next moment his smile disappeared as the Task Force appeared behind the pseudo-child. He obviously hadn't planned to fight the Task Force tonight, especially when they outnumbered his men by five to one. He knew he already lost this fight.

Apparently, his men knew as well. With only one hand signal from the mustached man, they all fled. The Task Force, who were still trying to process the scene, could only stare as the men disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

**"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?!"**

The air seemed to shake at the force of Nakamori-keibu's voice. Conan almost fell over at the volume and he was pretty sure the ringing in is ears wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. This man was as bad as Hattori and Kogorou with that big mouth of his.

Putting aside his irritation for his curiosity, Conan also looked at the thief with the same expecting gaze as the other keiji who were surrounding him. He also wanted to know what _Black Organization_ members were doing up here and why they were holding the man at gunpoint.

However, just one look at the thief's face made him swallow his words.

The man's face was set into a stony expressionless mask. He looked like a statue with how still he was and the only thing reminding Conan that he was alive was the almost undetectable rise and fall of his chest, though it too went close to going unnoticed. His body was in a defensive position, with half of his body turned away towards the edge of the roof. What the thief said, however, made something in Conan's stomach flip unpleasantly.

In a tone that seemed to come very close to glacial, KID addressed Nakamori-keibu.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Keibu. This doesn't concern you or the police," he said in an almost flippant manner. He sounded as if he hadn't almost been shot to death by a bunch of assassins! Just the mere thought made a shiver go down the shrunken detectives spine.

He came very close to flinching when KID turned his gaze to him. His indigo eyes looked with cerulean and Shinichi couldn't bring himself to look away.

" _Don't get involved._ "

Huh?

Shinichi only just registered that the words had been meant for him when the thief suddenly dived off the building. _Don't get involved_. The thief had spoken directly to him. He didn't speak the words very loudly, he had only spoken in such a soft whisper that the teen was surprised he had even heard it at all.

Suddenly, something caught his eye, something that was very wrong. He turned his gaze towards the sky and let out an involuntary gasp. The thief was gliding away just as he always did, but there was one thing off about him. The man had a vaguely pained expression on his face, as if it was hurting him to use the glider in the first place.

Without even waiting for the Task Force or bothering to listen to Nakamori's enraged shouts about stupid thieves and questionable activities, Shinichi bolted for the stairs. If there was one thing Shinichi couldn't stand, it was missing puzzle pieces. KID somehow fit into the picture involving his mysterious enemy and obviously wasn't on their side.

Was KID an ex-member, like Haibara, who somehow managed to escape before he could be killed? Most likely not, but the thought wasn't completely ridiculous. How far back did the history between KID and the BO go? The Detective of the East had to find out. KID's life was at stake.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he took off down the hallway and towards the exit. He gained a few curious looks but decided to ignore them in favor of bursting out the door and grabbing his skateboard. Making sure to turn it up to full speed, Conan took off down the street in the direction of KID's glider.

Ever since the confrontation on the roof, the look in KID's eyes refused to leave him alone. His face had been completely blank, but his eyes had been pleading. He had sincerely not wanted any of them involved. He wanted them to stay out of the battle to spare their lives. Especially Conan's and Nakamori's.

He had to find out why.

Shinichi barely registered when he had chased the thief out of Beika city limits. After a little while longer, they entered the district of Ekoda. Was this where the thief lived? It wasn't even really that far away.

It was an effort to not lose sight of KID as he followed him through the streets until they reached a normal looking two story building. It didn't really stand out all that much and had a small, but well-kept rose garden in the front. This was where the thief lived and the lack of vehicle or any lights on in the house meant that he probably lived alone.

For some reason, Shinichi found that the thought of the thief living alone make him frown.

Shinichi watched as KID landed on the balcony of the house and slipped in silently through a sliding door that most likely lead to a bedroom. At the sight, the detective ducked low and ran towards the window on the side of the front door. It was pitch black inside until a sudden light almost made the teen hide. The light was coming from upstairs and was faint enough to hint that the door to the hall was partially opened, allowing the light to flood the hallway.

As quietly as possible, Conan slid the window open (why was it even unlocked?) and rose his body through the seal to the indoor floor. Now the trickiest part; getting upstairs and to the thief's room unnoticed.

He wasn't sure if he should've been relieved or concerned when he succeeded ten minutes later.

When he found the door that was emitting the light, he found himself pausing. Was he really sure he wanted to find out what was really going on here? What if it as a different organization than the BO? What if they were even more dangerous?

But then another thought struck him.

What would happen if he turned around and left, right now? What would happen to KID? If it was the BO or another group like them, what would happen to KID's loved ones? He was bound to have people he cared about in his civilian persona, right?  
Would they kill KID?

Would they force KID to work for them?

The second thought caused something vile to churn Conan's stomach violently. He didn't even want to think of KID being forced to kill anyone or steal and not be allowed to return. And what about all the good that KID did for the Task Force that no one ever noticed? The shooters he took out, drug smugglers he stopped, assassins he helped arrest? No one would ever know. And KID would either make all of it moot with the bad things he was forced into or take everything to the grave with him because he refused to cooperate.

Working up the quickly vanishing courage that was left in his heart, Conan moved to peek in the door -

\- and stumbled over his own feet.

With a soft _thump_ the child stumbled into the door, grasping at the door handle to keep himself up. He could feel the shame burning his ears as he tried to not look up. But, he also knew what he came here for and slowly raised his head.

And promptly stopped breathing.

In front of him was not a man, but a teenager. His face was free from the interfering glass and metal of the monocle showing an open and innocent looking face that was free of it's usual smug grin. His jacket had been removed, leaving only his blue button up shirt and red tie. The top hat was also missing, allowing messy brown locks to stick out in almost every direction.

Those same indigo eyes (widened with surprise, disbelief, and fear) once again stared into tanzanite from a face that looked very much like his own. The expression was so out of place on the usually calm and collected thief that Conan had almost laughed. And he probably would have if it hadn't been for the flash of red that caught his attention.

This time, his heart froze.

A hole was ripped through KID's sleeve that was about the size of a normal bullet. It had torn through the shirt and had embedded itself into the thief's shoulder, which explained the red that was quickly staining the boy's silken shirt.

Quickly going into an anaylistic haze, Conan quickly straightened himself upright and pushed away from the door. Ignoring the startled sound that the other teen made, he crossed the room and knelt beside him. The bullet hadn't been very big and also hadn't gone in very far. He let out a sigh of relief at the find. At least he could have Haibara remove it later, but right now, he needed to focus on stopping the bleeding.

He looked up into eyes that resembled a startled cat, pupils dilated and almost sharp looking while also analyzing. Not once had the other boy said anything, but he had obviously been watching, probably for his first chance to flee right back out the window. It sent a slight pang straight to Shinichi's heart to see such an expression on a kid his own age. How long had he been in danger that he had began to not trust anyone around him?

Instead of voicing his thoughts, however, he simply shook his head and took the disinfectant from the boy's hands. His expression of mistrust instantly turned into a look of startled confusion and curiosity (he even tilted his head like a puppy, for crying out loud!) and Conan had avert his eyes from the oddly cute sight. Was this what he looked like when he did the same thing to Ran?

To try and distract himself and resist looking back up, he focused on putting the disinfectant on a cotton ball and dabbing it against the wound. The injured boy didn't make a sound as the cleaning alcohol stung at his already burning shoulder, but his entire body tensed. Just how often did he get shot that he barely even made a noise anymore?

Conan didn't really think he was ready for the answer.

Busying himself with helping securely wrapping the wound, he blocked out any other thoughts. After he was done cleaning it, he grabbed the gauze and cotton from the medical kit that lay open next to KID's side. Did KID keep it in his room in case he really needed one? How many did he have? Shinichi shook the thought out of his head before he could have too much time to dwell on it.

Carefully, he raised the cotton to the wound and pressed it firmly against the teen's shoulder. This time, a grimace made its way onto the boy's face, the only sign of pain he had made since he had left on the glider. Trying to finish quickly, Conan brought the gauze wrapping in his hand up and made short but firm work at wrapping it securely around the cotton and keeping it in place on top of the bullet wound. When he was sure it wouldn't fall apart, the detective finally pulled back with a sigh.

However, his relief was short lived because the next second he was swept up into two thin but strong arms and lifted off the floor.

"O-Oi, KID!" he stuttered. The thief didn't show any signs of having heard him and instead chose to stand up and pull the smaller teen to his chest. Wasn't he hurting his shoulder by doing this? Conan tried to struggle out of the vice hold, but eventually gave up and went slack in defeat.

Just as quickly he was picked up, he was dropped back down on top of the desk that was on the adjacent wall to his bed. The bigger teen leaned forward and seemed to examine Conan's face closely, much to the smaller boy's discomfort, but pulled away and went back to the medical kit and also brought it over. Sitting it next to the boy, he pulled out a disinfectant wipe and gently took hold of Shinichi's chin, causing an uneasy feeling that almost made him squirm in discomfort. Why wasn't the thief saying anything?

Ignoring the reaction of the child in front of him, KID brought the wipe up and gently rubbed it against his cheek. A light sting told Shinichi that he probably had a scrape or a cut on his face that must have caught the kaitou's attention. Was he trying to return the favor for his shoulder?

KID let go of Conan's face as he rummaged through the kit one more time. He pulled back with a triumphant grin and turned back to the boy on the desktop. In his hands was a single band-aid, a tube of neosporin, and a cotton swap. However, the teen remained silent as he worked on the injury his little detective had most likely received at the heist.

Not even ten seconds later the cut was cleaned and bandaged. Conan was slightly stunned at the speed, but had to remind himself that he was dealing with a magician. He had to be fast of he didn't want people to know how he did his tricks.

"Why?"

At the sound of the foreign voice, Shinichi's head snapped up. KID was once again looking at him with the puzzled puppy look. His voice was no longer disguised, revealing a voice much like his own. Just how similar was KID to himself? The thief already looked similar to him and could impersonate him without any problems, but even his voice was similar to his own! Even if it was slightly higher.

He had to remind himself that the thief had asked him a question.

"What...," was his oh so intelligent reply.

The thief gave an exaggerated sigh and took a few steps back to plop down on his bed. He looked curious, yet irritated, much like a cat who couldn't reach the fish inside the fish tank.

"Why did you help me, Kudou-kun?"

Shinichi's brain committed suicide.

"W-W-W-Wha-?"

KID gave another sigh, though this one was more in defeat than anything else. He turned his gaze back up to Shinichi and asked once again, "Why did you help me?"  
Shinichi could only give him a look that said that he thought the teen was stupid. "Why do you think I did, barou?" KID blinked, stunned at the harmless insult and blatant admission without any denial. He never thought that Kudou wouldn't try to deny it. How did the teen even survive this long if he caved in so easily?

"I helped because I wanted to. It's as simple as that, you stupid thief."

KID was doing a very good impersonation of an owl. However, he knew he couldn't keep up with a detective's way of thinking. Normal detectives were one thing, but detectives like Kudou and Hakuba were on a completely different level.

"Now would you answer my question?" the detective inquired.

KID could only nod dumbly in response. Is this why the detective had originally shown up?

"What is your relationship with the Black Organization?"

KID froze.

Tantei-kun knew about them? Had he had a run in with them before? He looked at the detective in a new light as he took in his current form. Had the detective been shrunk because of something that happened with the Crows?

It only made since when he thought about it. He had known who Edogawa Conan really was, but he never thought that the detective nerd had gotten himself into such a dire situation with their mutual enemy.

He almost felt like banging his head against the wall until he put himself in a coma.  
"Well, Meitantei, what do you think my ties with them are?" he found himself saying. Answer a question with a question and you will get to know your opponent better. Or just really end up ticking them off.

Shinichi gave a huff and looked a little peeved, but not overly so, like he had expected the thief to ask that. He looked into KID's eyes and decided to tell the thief his theories.

"My first thought was that you were possibly an ex-member," a snort of amusement from the magician, "but you are the exact opposite from what they do, so I quickly ruled that out. However, it is highly likely that you are at odds with them because of the first KID." At those words, the thief gave a start before quickly deflating. He should have known better than to engage in a game of wits with the Detective of the East. He wasn't called the Heisei Holmes for nothing, after all and any argument he made would probably be invalid to the theories or clues that the older teen had put together.

He gave a short laugh as he fell backwards onto his bed with a wumph. Without saying another word, he raised his good arm and pointed to the portrait attached to his wall.

Shinichi followed the finger and almost smacked himself for missing it. Beside the thief's bed was a giant portrait of a man holding a top hat in his hand while a dove and confetti burst from within. He had a kind smile and his eyes were alight with laughter. He also looked a lot like an older version of the teen in front of him. A jolt went through him as realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

"You're father."

A short nod was his only answer.

The Black Organization had killed KID's dad. That was why the thief wouldn't take any help Conan had offered him in the past even though the thief risked his neck for him multiple times.

"They say that it was a stage accident." The sudden words made Shinichi snap his eyes back to the teen. He was sitting up again with and looking at the portrait with a haunted look on his face, as if his mind was seeing something else entirely. "They say that Oyaji had made a mistake, a miscalculation with one of his tricks that caused the explosion." Tears were beginning to build in the boy's eyes. The realization that hit him this time made him almost see red. The Organization had killed KID's father in front of him. It was like they were rubbing it in his family's face that no one would ever figure out who did it.

A sob broke him out of his dark thoughts. When he looked up, KID was holding a hand to his mouth as if he had just pictured the entire scene all over again and was trying really hard not to puke. Maybe he had.

In a split second, Shinichi jumped down from his perch on the desk and was pulling himself up onto the bed. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around the thief's torso as he pulled the larger teen into a hug. The boy froze for a moment before the dam broke, both the physical one and the emotional one. He returned the hug as tightly as he could, ignoring the flare in his shoulder, as he cried into Shinichi's hair. His body was wracked over and over again with his sobs, but he tried to remain as quiet as he could. Shinichi let him squeeze his body as he felt the tears wet his hair.

After who even knew how long later, the thief slowly calmed down. His sobs had passed, but the occasional hiccup still made him jerk every now and then. His hold had relaxed. but he he hadn't let go of the small body pressed up against his own. He was almost stalk still before suddenly falling back onto the bed, dragging the detective with him. Pulling away and trying not to flinch when his body protested, Shinichi looked at KID's face.

His face was relaxed and open and hr looked like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. His eyes were mostly closed in a sleepy look, but Shinichi could still see the puffiness and tracks that ran down his face from the tears. He looked like he might fall asleep any second.

"Oi, Oi. Don't fall asleep yet."

KID's eyes opened a little wider, though they still had a hazy look to them. How long had KID gone without sleep? Keeping up with school while also planning and performing heists must be taxing on a still growing body that wasn't used to the strain. KID had been performing heists for a year, but it must still get tiring.

Wiggling himself out of the thief's loose hold, Shinichi took hold of KID's good arm and gave a gentle pull. He still had to get the bullet out of KID's other shoulder. Almost as if in a trance, the boy followed his lead and got up off of the bed. He seemed to sway slightly on his feet, but continued to hold his ground.

"C'mon, you need to get changed so that I can take you to see someone about that bullet."

KID looked at him in confusion for a moment before a look of understanding dawned on his face. The thief reached into his pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb. One puff of pink smoke later, the thief was wearing a white t-shirt with a black hoodie and black pants. He gave Shinichi a nod and walked toward the hallway, ready to leave.

Once they were outside, Shinichi made sure to hold the bigger teens hand so that anyone who saw them out this late would believe that KID was just a teen walking home with his younger brother or something. He didn't want the thief to go to jail for kidnapping after all (or anything else for that matter).

The thought almost made him stumble over his own feet. He actually didn't want KID o go to jail! He didn't even know his name! That thought also made him realize that he was going to need a name for Haibara before she blew KID's brains out in his sleep.

"Oi, KID?" The thief made a sound of acknowledgement as he seemed to scanned the streets. Even half asleep, he wouldn't let his defenses drop. "I'm going to have to give my friend a name if you don't want to get shot again." The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. He cursed himself mentally as he tried to think of a better way to word it.

He didn't get the chance before the sound of laughter erupted from the silent magician. He almost stopped walking as he balked at the kaitou's light laughter. It almost sounded like bells, if one could say that about a boy without it sounding girly. It was real and genuine and Shinichi had a feeling that he was some of the few who had heard it.

Once his laughter died down, the teen looked at the shrunken detective with tears of mirth in his eyes. It looked far better than when he had looked so upset earlier. Shinichi found himself smiling as well.

"Nice to meet you, Kudou Shinichi-kun. My name is Kuroba Kaito."

His tone was as soft as his eyes and held all of the gratitude that he felt towards his new-found ally. He didn't have to fight alone anymore.

The rest of the walk to the train station was spent exchanging information about each other. Shinichi was a month older than Kaito and apparently their parents knew each other for quite some time.

During the ride, Shinichi was surprised with how many creepers he had to fend off after Kaito fell asleep. Did the thief have some kind of unknown seduction ability or something? By the time they arrived in Beika again, Shinichi came to the conclusion that he would never let the younger teen ride the train alone ever again.

**_Ever._ **

* * *

 

To Be Continued...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was it? Too much? Too little? I slipped a small ConKID moment in there because it's really funny to imagine Shinichi as the dominant partner even with his current situation. Please also remember that this is a friendship story though and that there will be no pairings. (Although I am thinking of a ConKID story.)
> 
> I'm considering bringing in Hakuba next chapter or maybe the one after. Do any of you have any ideas about how his intro should happen? Should he help Hattori (wouldn't that be a laugh) or should he and Kaito already be friends and he helps Shinichi fend Heiji off?
> 
> Next chapter Shinichi and Kaito go to Shinichi's school to pick up some homework. Heiji decides to tag along since he thinks it might be a trap. Things get awkward when everyone fauns over 'Shinichi' and his little cousin. Heiji only gets even more angry at all the attention that Kaito is getting. 'Conan' finds that he has to protect Kaito again when several students try to gets handsy.  
> See you guys next chapter as the mayhem continues!


	3. A Visit to Teitan High

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is the next chapter guys! Chapter three, baby! I'm pumped. Keep it coming muse! Today is the long awaited trip to Teitan. Will Conan be able to properly protect 'Shinichi' from curious questions and wandering hands? And what about Heiji? Will his jealousy make him snap in front of Shinichi's classmates?
> 
> On with the next installment to Friendship Status!  
> It's show time!

Conan was trying really hard not smash his head against the closest solid surface. Unfortunately, if this kept up, that effort would be in vain.

Sitting on a public bus, he sat between Hattori and what appeared to be Kudou Shinichi, currently Kuroba Kaito in disguise. Kaito was making a maximum effort to try and avoid Hattori's scorching gaze as the Osakan tried to glare a whole into the side of his head. It wouldn't have been so bad if the idiot hadn't been making his new friend so uncomfortable. The thief was as on edge as he usually only was on heists.

When he got home he had to make sure to lock the door before anything else.

Ever since Hattori arrived yesterday, things had only went down hill between the two. He understood that Hattori was worried about him, but it was irritating when the teen wouldn't listen to a single word that Conan tried to tell him. He had attempted time and time again to tell the boy that Kaito wasn't going to take his place, but he wouldn't have it. It was almost like he refused to believe that Kaito was actually virtually harmless outside of heists.

He also had to wonder why it seemed impossible to have more than one best friend. After all, Ran was his best friend as well and Conan would sooner listen to what she had to say than Heiji. Not to mention that he never saw Hattori complaining about her.

Almost everything that came out of his mouth was some kind of conspiracy theory about KID planning to kill Conan after gaining his trust. If it hadn't been for their heart to heart and him seeing just how sweet and thoughtful Kaito could be when it was just the two of them, he probably would have agreed with his friend.

At least Kaito hadn't tried to rat him out to Ran when he refused to tell him something. He just pulled the puppy dog face and Conan found himself caving in and telling him anyway. It was kind of scary how much Kaito's puppy eyes were like Ayumi's. It made it impossible to tell him no.

He was jerked from his thoughts by the bus stopping in front of his school. It was about lunch time and it was likely that most of the students would be in the halls or eating at their desks or in the cafeteria. He could only hope that they didn't attract too much attention. It wasn't everyday that you see three famous detectives walk into a high school.

He almost gave a start when warm arms wrapped around his waist and lifted him. Kaito gave him an apologetic look as he rested the pseudo-child against his hip. Leaning forward he whispered into Conan's ear, "I know that you're not some little kid, but please don't be mad at me for this. It's for my own peace of mind."

When all the boy could do was blink owlishly at him, Kaito pointed to the school grounds. Multiple students were wandering the campus and most of them seemed in a hurry. That was when it hit him. Kaito was worried about him getting run over by a thoughtless teenager who wasn't paying enough attention. It was actually a little sweet. At least he wouldn't pick him up just to annoy him like Hattori did.

He ignored the growl from behind them as Kaito grabbed his backpack from the compartment above their seats. It was sometimes unbelievable how thoughtful the magician could be.

As they exited the bus, they seemed to almost immediately gain the attention of the school's population. He watched as several students stopped and stared as they made their way through the front door. Some pointed fingers as others (mostly girls) snapped photos. Apparently, it was adorable to see 'Kudou Shinichi' carry his cousin around. The thought almost made Conan want to bury his face into Kaito's neck and never look up again. The reassuring pat that he received to his back calmed him a little.

As they made their way down the stairs, the mini detective couldn't believe just how much attention they were receiving. Several girls had already fainted from the 'Kudou Duo Effect', as Kaito liked to call it. He nearly caved into the thought of turning around and darting back out the door. Ever since he had taken up the life of Edogawa Conan, he wasn't used to people paying this much attention to him, especially this much.

They had to stop at almost every three doors because someone had wanted to take a picture or catch up with Shinichi. Kaito was ridiculously good at weaving tales about what he had been up to, ranging from just normal cases to some that sounded so bizarre that Conan was shocked everyone was buying it so easily.

It was usually thanks to Hattori butting in that they were able to continue on their way when a conversation seemed to take too long. At least he was doing something other than grumbling threats under his breath.

By the time they finally reached the Shinichi's class, they were almost an hour late. Kaito gave a sigh of relief as he opened the door. The classroom was mostly empty except for a few seats that held a few students who didn't even look up as they entered. The teacher looked delighted to see them as she lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Kudou-kun! It's so good to-," she cut off as she took notice of Conan and Hattori. She looked stunned for a second before she finally took the position that Shinichi was holding his cousin.

She promptly fainted.

Kaito immediately sat Conan on the desk as he rushed to the teacher's side. He was gentle as he checked her for any injuries before pulling a blanket out from the backpack (why did he even have that) and settling it over her. He also pulled out a pillow and raised her head so that she wasn't resting on the floor.

_Just how many things does Kaito have in his backpack?!_

The thought left Conan stunned as he watched the thief reach into his bag once more, this time pulling out a stack of papers. It was the pages of homework that he had retrieved for Conan last month. He could observe in silence as Kaito left the homework on the desk next to him and opened the teacher's desk.

"Whatta ya doin'?!" came Hattori's bemused shout. Several of the nearby students almost jumped out of their seats before shooting glares in the Osakan's direction. He looked confused for a second before shaking his head and focusing his attention once again on the bane of his existence (after that blonde bastard, of course).

Kaito only gave him an amused glance as he waved a folder in front of Heiji's face. "This is where Sensei keeps my homework, Hattori. I have to retrieve it somehow." Several students laughed at the sarcastic tone that Kaito had used. When it came to pretending to be friends with Hattori, Kaito could impersonate Shinichi perfectly (as well as in every other way for that fact). It was funny to watch as Heiji's face turned a violent shade of red. Conan could practically see the steam coming from his ears.

" _Don' act like Kudou aroun' me!_ " he whispered vehemently. At this rate, he was probably going to destroy the classroom any second if he received any more provocation, intentional or not. Kaito looked stunned for a moment, but then his face fell. He really hadn't meant to get on the Osakan's nerves. He was hoping to show the detective just how much he respected his close friendship with Shinichi and show that he also wanted to be friends, but apparently all he was doing was making it worse.

As if sensing his inner turmoil, a small hand tugged on his sleeve. He looked down and met bright tanzanite eyes that looked at him in understanding. Conan had a look of resignation on his face that spoke of having to deal with this often. Unexpectedly, the small boy raised his arms in the universal sign of wanting to be carried. Kaito couldn't help but laugh at the cute image before complying. Once he was situated on Kaito's hip once more, Conan wrapped his arms around his neck in a comforting gesture. It felt a little awkward, but also very easy as if he had done it a thousand times before.

Kaito was beaming at this point. He gave Hattori a smile before picking up the bag and heading for the door. He wouldn't give up on becoming friends with Tantei-han yet. He would prove that he understood how the teen felt and that he wasn't a threat to his self declared Best Friend status.

* * *

They were halfway out of the school when it finally happened. Conan had hoped that Kaito's special seduction ability would stay ineffective for today at the least. In the past two months that he and Kaito had been friends, he noticed that it seemed to turn off and on at random. One day they would go somewhere and nothing would happen when the next Conan would be forced to use his sneakers to keep a particularly handsy person from outright molesting the poor magician. Kaito didn't seem to really notice anything and Conan couldn't tell if he was happy or irritated by it.

The scene pretty much played out like this.

Hattori had been in front of them for once as Kaito trailed behind him. One second, they had been walking down the hall towards the exit. The next, Kaito had somehow dropped Conan when he was roughly pushed up against a locker.

Students were pointing while some took out their phones once again, probably for videos this time. When Conan finally recovered, he turned around to ask Kaito what was wrong before the scene suddenly registered in his head. A boy he didn't recognize had pinned a startled Kaito against a locker.

He didn't look like he was from his class, but nothing really stood out about him either. He had normal length black hair that was slicked back against his head and his brown eyes seemed to try to look at as much of the teen in front of his as possible.

This was the first time Conan had seen anyone react like this to Kaito's Secret Seduction Ability. Most people had just stared or tried to touch the boy inappropriately, but never had any of them gotten this physical.

Before he could do anything, however, the offending teen was suddenly eating dust as Hattori slammed him against the ground. Conan was stunned for a moment, before giving Hattori a appreciative grin and rushing over to Kaito. As the shock had finally left the thief's mind, he had slumped against the locker door as he gripped his right shoulder. The throbbing from the bullet wound was dull, but it still hurt. He barely registered the detective crouch down in front of him with a look of concern.

"Oi, Kuroba. Are you okay?" A grunt was the only reply he received. His look of concern turned into anger as he whirled around to glare at the teen responsible for causing his friend so much pain. Hattori was currently still pinning him to the ground. The Osakan appeared to be hissing something under his breath to the student as he held his hands behind his back.

He made his way silently over to the two boys before stopping just in front of them. Hattori seemed to catch on to just how angry Conan was as he scrambled to back away. It was kind of shocking to see the glare that Kudou saved for murders come across his face when not even an attempted murder had been committed.

The unknown boy looked confused when a teen that was bigger than him seemed like he was afraid of a child. But when he locked eyes with what looked like a miniature demon making its way towards them, he could suddenly understand.

Conan's face was pulled into tight glare that looked like it may break his face. The sunlight from outside caught his glasses, blocking out one of the lenses as a dark aura seemed to permeate from him. The only visible eye was so cold that it probably could have frozen hell over.

It was safe to say that he had never been so terrified in his life.

Hattori could only watch in stunned silence as Kudou leaned in and seemed to whisper something into the offending boy's ear. He could only wonder what he had said when the student blanched. And was Heiji's eyes playing tricks on him or was the teen shaking? _What the hell was Kudou saying to him?_

As abruptly as the secret conversation ended the teen was on his feet and running out the door. His face was so pale that it could be mistaken for a paper mache mask with eyes so wide that they threatened to fall out of his face.

When Hattori looked at his friend, he was slightly shocked to see the triumphant smirk on his face. However, his eyes were still dark and his entire body language was tense, as if he was trying to stop himself from doing something unsavory.

Hattori couldn't keep back his question, "What the hell did you tell him, Kudou?"

Conan turned his still sharp gaze to meet Heiji's own confused, searching blue eyes. After a moment, Conan seemed to regain himself and calm down enough that the glare disappeared from his face. At least he just looked tired and not like he was about to commit murder.

It was then that Kudou finally answered his question. "I just told him what would happen of he ever pulled a stunt like that on Shinichi-niisan again, that's all." It was said without any heat and Hattori was able to safely say that the danger had passed.

As Conan went to check on Kaito once more, Hattori was left with his thoughts. The situation had been so bizarre that Heiji had been left stunned for a moment before he could react. He had been infuriated that anyone would make Kudou fall like that and not even seem the least bit sorry.

It wasn't until he looked over to where Kudou was fretting over Kuroba that he noticed that the younger teen seemed in pain. Was the thief injured? It would make since if Kudou had reacted the way he did.

He watched as Kuroba tried to convince the shrunken detective that he was fine while said child was obviously able to tell that he was lying. He just gave an irritated sigh.  
Maybe the thief wasn't so bad. But, he still needed to pass Hattori Heiji's Test if he wanted to prove it to him.

The rest of the day was spent at the Kudou Manor as they rested in the libarary. Conan was sitting at a desk as he mulled over his homework. Heiji was standing in front of a bookshelf as he tried to look for a book that wasn't by Conan Arthur Doyle. Sadly, he wasn't really having much success except for books that were written by Kudou Yuusaku. Kaito was sitting by the window on the far wall as he gazed at the sky outside. He had been given quite a scare today and his mind was still in a bit of a frenzy as he tried to calm his still slightly racing heart.

What he didn't notice was when both Conan and, surprisingly, Heiji sent him concerned looks.

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was slightly caught off guard by throwing some HeiKai friendship there at the end. But that kind of is the idea of the story, Kaito finally earning Heiji's trust and proving that he wasn't a threat to Shinichi's life. It will take a while before Heiji finally drops his guard around Kaito, but it will all be in good time.
> 
> I have decided to have the first challenge will be in the next chapter. Hakuba will also be making an appearance near the end, probably. I'm not sure what to do about his intro, though. Dramatic or simple?
> 
> For now, ladies and gentlemen, the curtain is closing for the next act.
> 
> See you next chapter!


	4. Surprise Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Chapter three is up peoples! I had to go to the library and upload it through my iPad before I looked it back up using my account on the computer. Did you guys think I was gone? Well, hah! I'm back baby!
> 
> Enjoy the story!

Conan awoke to the best smell in the entire world.

Kaito's coffee.

It was one thing to have normal coffee, but when Kaito made it, it took on a whole new level of heavenly. He never understood how the thief could take the normal ingredients that he used everyday and somehow came up with the most perfect coffee that put any café, diner, or restaurant to shame.

He sat for a minute, letting the scent fill his nose, before finally deciding that if he wanted any, he would have to get up and actually go get it. Although if he waited long enough he was sure that Kaito would bring it to him, but seeing as how troubled he was by the Hattori situation, Conan decides that the least he could do was get his own coffee.

However, when he went to get out of the chair, his body was so stiff that he could barely move his arms down to his side before he winced. Since he had fallen asleep in an abnormal sleeping position against the desk while sitting in a chair, it made since.  
Or at least he thought he had.

When Conan opened his eyes, he was no longer in the library and there weren't any pages on complicated math equations crushed or covered in saliva in front of him. When he took a closer look, he was positive that he was in his own bedroom wrapped in his comfortable blanket. Thankfully, he wasn't changed into pajamas, not like he had any here that fit his shrunken form anyway.

He almost allowed himself to wonder who had brought him here before the answer became quite obvious. Hattori wouldn't have brought him here because he would risk waking him up. When Hattori had woke him up before, Conan had kicked him in the head with a soccer ball that left him knocked out for most of the day.

That only left Kaito. Kaito had this soothing aura that made sure when he was handling Conan, he never woke up. As cliché and wrong as it sounds being used on a boy, Kaito had that motherly touch. The first time Conan had brought the magician to his house, he had been surprised to see how clean it was. Kaito had admitted, with a very charming blush, that he had been to the house several times as Shinichi to keep it it in top condition for when Conan got his body back.

Needless to say that when they had met up again a few days later, Conan had stocked his refrigerator with chocolate ice cream. The glow that had come over Kaito's face had been worth it.

But now, Conan had to find a way to say thank you to the thief once again. It was another thing that he had been doing a lot of when he had become friends with the younger teen.

Not to mention that he had to find a way to make up for the school fiasco that had happened yesterday. He understood where Hattori was coming from, but he wished that he hadn't snapped at Kaito like that.

However, Conan decided, these thoughts were best left alone until after Kaito's heavenly coffee.

* * *

By the time he got downstairs, through the foyer, and to the kitchen, he was met with a very surreal sight.

Kaito was standing in front of the stove, fully dressed with a pink apron on. His chocolate locks were covered in what looked like batter, as well as the apron and his forearms. He had a ridiculous smile on his face as he hummed a very upbeat and happy tune. Conan wondered for a second if he had ever heard the song somewhere before.

As if sensing something was off, Kaito perked up and turned around. However, the teen twirled too fast and slipped on some more batter that had fallen on the floor. With a yelp and a slightly funny (okay hilarious) face, the boy went crashing to the tiled floor. Conan ran around the island to check on the magician and was met with wide, startled indigo eyes.

For a second, they just stared at each other, stunned. Then the ice was broken as they broke out in laughter. When they had both calmed down Conan finally helped Kaito off of the ground. Kaito had an embarrassed flush dusted across his face, but his eyes were alight with humor and mirth.

"Thanks, Shin-chan."

Conan forced himself to not blush at the appellation, and nodded in return. In order to keep himself from slipping up like Hattori, Kaito had taken to calling him Co-chan instead of Shinichi or Shin-chan. But he still called him the latter when they were alone. It reminded Conan that Kaito knew who he really was and still wanted to be friends with him.

"What were you doing, Kai-chan? I've never seen you like this before." The boy seemed to practically take all of the energy of the sun into his smile at the sound of the nickname. Even though his precious Tantei-kun didn't seem to mind the affection, he was still pleasantly surprised to see him return it. They probably would have been raised together like cousins anyway, if the 'accident' hadn't happened.

He was just glad that he was really friends with Shinichi, his would-be twin.

"Oh! I was just baking something. You know, to show my appreciation." This was said almost quietly as Kaito turned his head slightly away in embarrassment. Conan was shell shocked. After everything the teen did for him, he thought that he was indebted to him, in some weird twisted way?! Before he could stop himself, the words just flew out of his mouth.

"I should be the one telling you that!" Kaito looked stunned. What was Shinichi even saying? Ignoring the nonplussed look his counterpart was giving him, the shrunken detective carried on, "Do you even know what you do?! You always know just what to say to cheer me up! You're always there for me! You know how to calm me down when I'm about to have a panic attack. You even help me take care of my house and go get my homework for me! Don't think for a minute that you are indebted to me because, if anything, it's the other way around!"

By now Kaito could only watch in silence as Shinichi, not Conan, poured out his frustration in that one tangent. This was how he felt? These were Shinichi's true feelings? A stupid grin made its way onto Kaito's face. He couldn't help how happy it had made him feel to hear those words. But he also couldn't let one of his favorite detectives outdo him like that.

"What about you, Shin-chan?" he found himself saying. "You don't owe me anything either. You do a lot more for me than I do for you." At Shinichi's adorable confused child impression, he gave a short laugh. "Don't tell me you've forgotten! You help me relieve stress when I'm with you. Thanks to you, I have someone other than Jii to talk to about the heists and the Crows. I could never tell Aoko, she'd hate me forever if she found out I was KID. I'm not so sure about telling my mom, although I have some suspicion that she knows anyway. And I don't want to get Hakuba-kun involved. He's too nosy for his own good.

Spending time with you is amazing! I guess that dealing with Mouri-chan believing I'm you is a bit of a downside, but it's worth a lot to see how happy it makes you just to see how much she seems to be calming down. Just knowing that I'm helping you, as both a family member and a fellow victim of the Organization is more than enough payment." He gave a sardonic smile as he finished. "The way I see it, we keep each other sane, so why not call it even?"

Conan couldn't help but smirk at that. While the thief had been right on multiple accounts, the sane part was still under investigation. Half of the things the boy did drove the detective crazy and quite possibly put his sanity at risk.

"Last time I checked detectives were supposed to be the ones making deductions, you crazy thief." he laughed.

"I am doing detective work in a way, you know."

"Dressing in a white suit and running around at night trying to lure out your father's killers does not count as detective work, barou!"

Kaito only gave a hearty laugh in reply as Shinichi soon joined him. In a short few moments, they both sat at the island with fresh coffee. Well Shinichi was drinking coffee. Kaito had poured so much sugar and creamer into his that it probably no longer counted as coffee.

Almost thirty minutes later, the oven dinged. When Kaito had taken the object out of the oven, Conan was struck by the sheer size of it. It was a large cake that almost looked like something from that movie that Kaito had brought over last week (it was called Lilo and something).

How had the cake even fit in the oven?!

"What the heck is that?!"

Kaito looked slightly offended. "What does it look like, Shin-chan? It's a cake!" He smiled as he took in his masterpiece. It was beautiful in his opinion.

"That is not a cake. That is a freakin' miniature house!"

At the child's quickly growing disbelief as he eyed the monstrosity in Kaito's hands, the magician broke out into a series of deranged giggles. Just wait till he tasted it!

They were both startled by the sound of something heavy falling over. Conan gave a quick scan of the hallway before turning back to Kaito. The teen had sat down the cake, taken off the apron, and somehow cleared all the still wet batter out of his hair, all in the few seconds that he had his back turned from him. He could admit that he was pretty impressed.

Conan made his way down the hall first, making sure that Kaito was following right behind him. When they once again entered the library, he found himself just letting out a sigh. He should of known better than to get so suspicious so quickly when he remembered the other person who had spent the night yesterday.

Hattori Heiji was sprawled across the floor from where he had fallen off of the couch against the far wall. He was hanging half way off the couch, his upper body bent on the floor while his lower body stuck upwards against back of the furniture. It was quite the humorous sight and Conan found himself hanging off of the doorway, in a scarily similar way that he had in Kaito's room two months ago, as he tried to contain his laughter. He was conscious of the fact that his body was shaking with the effort it took to suppress his urge to break out in giggles.

* * *

Hattori Heiji was having a crappy week. Most of the week had been spent arguing with Kazuha about a case involving a serial killer that had been targeting young detectives. Heiji had volunteered to be the bait for the killer while Kazuha had expressively forbidden it. He couldn't really understand why she had been so against it and had ended up doing it anyway when another detective turned up dead two days later.

Catching the killer had been extremely easy. In fact, it had been so painfully easy that Heiji was beginning to question just how competent the Osakan force was. How could the entire police force not catch a single man when all Heiji had done was punch the guy in the face one to knock him out. He hadn't even needed his trusty kendo sword.

However, by the time that the police force had shown up to pick up the man, Kazuha had shown up and had been chewing his head off for 'pulling such a stupid stunt, ahou'. She could use some pretty colorful words when she wanted to.

The, two days ago, he decided to give his buddy Kudou a visit, only to find what looked like him being molested or even kidnapped by himself! It had been so bizarre that his brain had almost shut down completely before he registered that some weirdo who looked like Kudou was in Kudou's house and looked freakishly similar to the grown version of Kudou and possibly trying to cause harm to the shrunken Kudou.

He had jumped to the only conclusion he could come up with.

But then Kudou had defended the guy! The weirdo had introduced himself as Kuroba and had tried to shake his hand, but Heiji had been too enraged by the discovery he had made. Kuroba had definitely been KID. It had been obvious. The smile, the eyes, and the slight shadow caused on his face by the setting sun coming through the window had helped confirm his suspicions. And Kudou had said that he had no intention of turning him in! Then Kuroba had gone full Creeper Mode and had the nerve to bury his face in his buddy's hair!

They had spent the night at Kudou's house and had gone to Teitan High the next day (yesterday). When he had seen how Kuroba had been acting like Kudou's classmates were his own, he couldn't help the frustration, that had begun to build ever since he had seen the teen, from making itself known as he kept cutting all of the conversations short. But the last straw had been when the thief had blatantly said those damned words as if he were Kudou himself. Right to his face! It was as if he was bragging that he knew Kudou better than he did! He couldn't have stopped himself from growling if he had wanted to.

Then had come the incident during their leave from the school. He had been walking ahead and stopped to wait so that Kudou and Kuroba could catch up. He hadn't felt like leaving Kudou alone with the teen aged thief for longer than absolutely necessary. But, then that guy had come out of no where. He had grabbed the thief by the arm and had slammed him into the lockers. The force of a surprise shove had caused Kuroba to drop Kudou, who looked rather stunned at the sudden fall.

Heiji had put the boy to the ground immediately. He was furious! If that idiot had been any rougher, he could have seriously hurt his best friend! That wasn't something that the Osakan took too kindly to. But when he had taken in the sight of Kudou's concerned face as he fretted over KID, something in him shifted. He couldn't help but wonder what the thief had done to get himself injured in such a way.

On their way back Kudou's house, Kuroba hadn't picked Kudou up once. He even started holding the child's hand with his left had instead of his right, the hand he'd used all day. Was the thief seriously injured from some kind of heist related injury? It would make since. Especially with the worried glances he kept getting from Kudou.

By the time they had returned to the Kudou Manor, Kudou hadn't left Kuroba's side even once. During the bus ride back, he had refused to let him sit between them, insisting that he just had to sit next to 'Kaito'. While Heiji had been miffed that they were on a first name basis, he allowed Kudou to usher Kaito into the window seat, claiming that it was safer for him. Heiji had only stared in confusion.

Kuroba's blush didn't help him understand any faster.

When they finally entered the house, he couldn't help but feel uneasy as he tried to understand everything he discovered that day. Kudou had apparently known Kuroba for a while before Heiji had arrived two days ago. They had probably became acquainted after an event at a heist, since Kudou knew about his shoulder injury. It also explained the weird protective instincts that Kudou was showing around the thief.

He also used this time to mull over what he knew about KID. Even though Heiji has been sure that the thief was up to no good, he hadn't shown any ill intentions towards Kudou or himself. He had actually been pretty nice. He caught the looks that the boy sent him sometimes. It wasn't a disdainful look or one of someone was afraid of being caught in the act. It had been one of curiosity and nervousness. Like he had wanted to talk to him and get to know him better, but something was mentally telling him that it was a bad idea.

He practically did a mental face palm as he remembered how he had treated the teen. He had acted so coldly. He had given Kuroba an attitude that he hadn't deserved. He had accused, snapped at, and insulted the magician. He still remembered the rejected look that had come to his face when he had growled at him yesterday.

Now that he'd calmed down a little, Heiji realized just how much of an ass he had been acting around Kuroba for a good two days now. Needless to say, he felt like a jerk. But he couldn't just drop the idea of putting Kuroba through the test. It would be suspicious if he suddenly acted all friendly with him.

As the thoughts whirled around in the Osakan's head, he felt himself getting more and more confused and aggravated. He lifted his hands to his hair and pulled, hoping the pain would help him clear his thoughts. However, no matter how much he pulled on his dark hair, he only remained very confused as to what to do about his current debacle.  
He was so focused on his inner struggle that he didn't notice he had begun to fall of the couch until his head collided with the floor.

While he was currently swearing to himself in some very colorful words of his own, Kudou entered the room. He found a dark glare coming onto his face when Kudou had the gall to make a very poor attempt to hide his laughter. The little runt.

That was also when he noticed the figure partially hidden behind the door frame. He only had a split second to register Kuroba's presence before his gaze was suddenly filled with a worried indigo.

"Are you all right, Hattori-kun?! Does your head hurt?!"

He was completely thrown off by the concern shown by the thief and could only shake his head no. He watched as the boy seemed to deflate in relief before grabbing the covers (when had those gotten there, he slept without one) before his vision was slowly turned right side up once more. It only made him feel worse than he already did. How could Kuroba be so forgiving?!

"If you're really okay, there's a cake in the kitchen." the teen said kindly. "Feel free to have some if you want."

He was interrupted by a scoff from the shrunken detective. "That still doesn't count as a cake, Kaito! You didn't have to make it so huge!" Despite his reprimanding words, amusement was laced throughout his tone and written all over his face.

He watched as Kuroba seemed to pout at the words and the two began to argue about the proper size for a cake. He was dumbfounded at how domestic it was, like two brothers who were total opposites. Although, Heiji was beginning to have trouble guessing which one was the younger brother with how the two were acting. Kudou was smirking and making matter of fact statements about how a normal sized cake was fine while Kuroba pouted and whined about how 'the bigger the better' was the only way to enjoy cake. It was like their ages had switched bodies.

Then a thought struck him.

"If ya don' have it in ya to eat such a big cake, Kudou, why not jus' go ta the bakery? It's not tha' far away."

The two seemed to freeze at the sudden input before turning towards him. Kudou looked slightly surprised that he hadn't said an insult about being left out or cake being a stupid thing to fight over. Kuroba looked like he wanted to hug Heiji and quite possibly spin him around.

"There's really a bakery nearby?!"

Heiji almost felt the urge to run away and hide as Kuroba continued to beam at him. The look on Kudou's face suggested that he was probably praying for something akin to mercy.

What could possibly go wrong at a bakery?

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was that? Was it too wacky? If you guys want, I can get rid of this story if it's not making any since. I'll delete if you never want to see it again.
> 
> Although, the good news is that the first challenge is in the next chapter is in the next chapter as well as Hakuba's appearance! Should I have him show up during the challenge? After? Will he be Kaito's enemy? Or a worried friend?
> 
> For now, the curtains close in preparation for the next act.
> 
> Look forward to it! See you next chapter!


	5. The Bakery Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Chapter four locked and loaded! Who's ready to party! On with the story and a character introduction! Took him long enough...

Heiji felt like slamming his head against a very hard surface.

Possibly until he either passed out or bled to death.

Either one would do, really.

Before him, he watched as Kudou was dragged around the store by Kuroba. Kuroba looked like, well, a kid in a candy store while Kudou looked like the older sibling or parent who was dragged along and couldn't resist. Kuroba's puppy dog eyes seemed to have that effect on people. Just on the walk here, Hattori had almost been clipped by a car and had let a few choice words slip. A woman nearby had looked scandalized until Kaito had gave her an apologetic and pleading look that only seemed amplified by a thousand when she noticed the innocent looking child that was holding his hand.

Hattori mentally noted he was still using his left hand. Had his injury been jarred that badly? It was a slightly worrying fact that had set the detective on edge. How was the boy dealing with pain? Was he taking any pain medication?

However, the scene before him made him forget that. The teen was practically glowing as he bounced around the shop. The look on Kudou's face suggested that he was also worried about the magician, if the concerned glances he kept sending him from the corner of his eyes meant anything. But he also looked slightly relieved that the teen was acting more energetic than last night. It must have freaked him out a little when Kuroba had been so quiet and hadn't talked to either of them last night.

It must have been after they had fallen asleep that Kuroba had taken Kudou back to his room and had given Heiji the blanket. It still awed the Osakan when he discovered just how caring the thief could be.

He almost allowed himself to smile, but he had to remind himself that he was supposed to give Kuroba his test first. The question was what would he do?

His questions were put on hold when the jingle of the bell above the door signaled the arrival of a new customer stepped in. However, when he turned around to see who it was, he suddenly felt like throwing himself out the window.

* * *

Hakuba Saguru was having a bad day. Two months ago, there had been a heist. That hadn't been the unusual part. When he had gotten there, KID had appeared five minutes early, surprising both himself and the Task Force. Before any of them had been able to do anything, the thief had taken the jewel and had fled.

They had put up a chase as usual, but half of the officers were taken out by traps. There hadn't been as many as usual. The thief had been in a rush to get out, that much was for certain. But why hadn't thief made sure that they were all preoccupied like he usually did?

He would deny to his dying day that he was jealous that Edogawa had made it to the roof before any of them. But when they had also made their way onto the rooftop, he was horrified at what he saw.

Several men in black outfits were surrounding KID's single white form. The thief had been turned slightly towards the edge, either to make himself a smaller target or to hide something.

The men had scattered on sight, but KID had remained on edge. He had spoken with a very serious tone that night when he told them to not get involved. Hakuba noticed that he had been mostly addressing him and the Edogawa boy. He understood not getting a child involved, but there was no way he was going to leave such a case alone! It was obvious that the thief had been in serious danger and had probably been in danger for a while now.

How long had KID been dealing with those men on his own?

He didn't notice when Eodgawa left, choosing instead to call Baaya to pick him up as quickly as possible. He had to make sure that Kuroba was home. If he was then he was safe, but if not... Saguru didn't want to think about it.

When he did reach Kuroba's house, all the lights were out. He tried to look for any sign that anybody was there, but came up empty handed.

Kuroba wasn't home.

The next day was spent anxiously waiting as he sat in the classroom for the prankster to make his dramatic entrance. His heart fell, however, when the boy never showed up. He could feel his worry only become stronger the longer that Kuroba never showed. He could see that Aoko was worried, but not so much since she probably thought he was sick or something.

When the school day ended, he had gone with Aoko to check up on the boy. He hoped that the idiot had just been asleep and hadn't heard him knocking. Maybe he had just been exhausted from the heist and just hadn't felt like answering him. Words couldn't describe how he felt when Kuroba had answered the door, a little ruffled, but alive and breathing.

He had almost hugged the smaller boy.

However, the relief was short lived when Kuroba began disappearing randomly. No one could predict when he would disappear next or where he was going. Sometimes he even skipped school, like he had yesterday. It worried the Brit, but at least Kuroba never came back injured, although for the past two months, he had been careful with his right shoulder. Saguru came to the conclusion that it was most likely an injury that he got during the heist.

He and Aoko had tried several times to follow him and discover where he was going, but each attempt only ended in vain. He always got away. Except for yesterday.

Their attempts to follow the magician finally bore results when they were able to catch him riding a bus that was headed for Beika. A quick phone call to Baaya had them catching up to the bus just as it as it was letting Kuroba off in front of the Mouri Detective Agency. They watched, dumbfounded, as Kuroba looked at himself in a window reflection and did something to his hair.

By the time he was done, Saguru and Aoko were shocked that he looked just like Kudou Shinichi! If Saguru remembered correctly, Kudou was a friend of the daughter of Mouri Kogorou. But why was Kuroba walking around disguised as Kudou? Over the next hour, they watched as a frantic looking Mouri Ran left in a hurry, exchanging quick pleasantries with Hattori Heiji before she ran off shouting something about getting an ice pack for 'Shinichi'. Hattori had looked amused before he ran to the agency, barging through the front door. Brute.

Not ten minutes later, Kuroba, Edogawa, and Hattori left the agency. Hattori was glaring daggers at Kuroba while the magician held the child detective's hand. Was Hattori jealous because Edogawa looked like he favored Kuroba over him? Sadly, Saguru and Aoko lost track of them before they could find out where they were going.  
They left Beika to go back to Ekoda so that they could process what was going on. Why had Kuroba been impersonating Kudou? What reason would he have to do such a thing? There was the question as to why he was hanging around Edogawa when the boy was supposed to be his biggest rival.

Unless Edogawa knew that Kuroba was KID and for some reason wasn't turning him in.  
By the time he had to go home for the night, neither of them had come up with an answer. Saguru made sure to leave anything KID related to himself. He didn't want to slip up any information that Aoko didn't need to know.

He was also in denial that he and Kuroba were anything other than rivals on the opposite sides of the law. But he couldn't lie and say that something had shifted and changed during the year and a half he had known the boy.

Over his time chasing KID and getting to know Kuroba as a person, he couldn't help but realize that there was no way that the prankster was a bad person. For all the bad he did, he did ten times the good. How could he ever bring himself to admit that he cared for the teen that had somehow become his best friend?  
The next morning, Saguru left by himself to return to Beika. He had an idea of what to do when he found the masquerading boy. He needed answers and he needed them now.

However, he couldn't find Kuroba the next morning. He searched everywhere for him, but couldn't find the little pain in the neck anywhere! No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't seem to discover the crook's hiding place.

After hours of fruitless searching, Saguru finally decided to call a quits. It was impossible to find someone when they didn't want to be found. On his way to the bus station, he spotted a quaint little bakery. Maybe he could get himself something to eat before the ride home, since he skipped breakfast in order to find the cause of all his recent heart attacks.

However, when he entered the store, he nearly had a seizure.

Running around the bakery, probably high on sugar, was Kuroba Kaito. He wasn't disguised as Kudou this time and was going crazy over all the sweets. He was currently fawning over a double layered chocolate cake while the elderly woman giggled behind the counter. Edogawa was watching with a look of fond irritation as his supposed 'elder' almost sobbed over the 'beauty that is chocolate and cake's love child'.

The scene almost had him both fuming and collapsing with exaggerated relief. This was what Kuroba was doing in his spare time? Going to random places with Edogawa-kun? Saguru couldn't believe he had been worried about the fool.

Ignoring Hattori, as he always did, Saguru marched up to the thief and took his place behind him. Edogawa looked up with a start as his tanzanite eyes met with Saguru's maroon. He seemed to freeze up as he regarded the larger teen with a wary look. He obviously didn't trust the Brit for one reason or another. Saguru gave him a teasing smile and a wink. He raised a single finger to his lips before schooling his face in a serious look of anger.

Edogawa observed the baffling scene as Saguru cleared his throat in an almost threatening manner. Kuroba seemed to tense before looking over his shoulder with a comical slowness. The blonde almost laughed at the look on his classmates face when he struggled to build up his poker face.

However, before he could say anything, Saguru raised his fist and brought it down, with probably far more force than necessary, on the shorter boy's head.

* * *

Kaito honestly didn't know how to react when his morning took such a curve ball to such a normal morning.

Well, as normal as spending the night at the Kudou Manor with Meitantei and Tantei-han can be. In the short span of an hour, he had baked a cake that he probably should have thought through better, had a heart to heart with Shinichi, and almost had a heart attack when Hattori had fallen off of the couch. That had scared the daylights out of him.

Then he had almost had an aneurysm when the Osakan had suggested going to the bakery. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought the detective was warming up to him.

When they finally reached the bakery that Shinichi had never told him about, Kaito had gone into a sugar fanboy faze as he took in all the different kinds of sweets the kind woman had shown them.

Now he had to deal with Hakuba.

To say he had been surprised to see his classmate all the way in Beika in the same bakery at probably twelve thirty in the afternoon would have been an understatement. But he was pretty sure his brain had shut down when the teen had hit him with enough force to knock a normal person out.

Before he could come up with anything to say or shout in pain, he was enveloped in a hug that was so tight that he had to struggle to breathe. The Brit was holding him as close as humanly possible. He could of sworn that he saw Shinichi's face change from bewilderment to worried irritation the next. He was obviously thinking back to the incident at the school. If he was honest, Kaito was thinking about it himself as he went stiff in the larger teen's hold.

Before Shinichi could shoot him with his dart watch, Hakuba pulled away. The look on his face spoke of both anger and relief. What was going on with the detective?

" _Why didn't you tell me?!_ "

Huh?

Hakuba looked like he was going to blow a fuse. His eyes were dark with a heavy feeling to them that weighed Kaito down to the tiled floor below him. Under the boy's piercing gaze, he was trapped as he took in the worry and anger in those expressive eyes.

"H-Hakuba-"

"I don't want to hear it Kuroba!" Kaito flinched at the Brit's shout. The teen was definitely angry without a doubt. He looked at Shinichi, trying to convey his fear, but was a bit surprised to see how the child was looking at the scene before him. He still had that calculating look on his face, like he was trying to solve a puzzle and not like he was most likely about to witness a murder.

Hakuba was still glaring as he finally let go of the smaller boy. Reaching into his pocket, Hakuba pulled out his wallet and walked straight up to the counter. He kept the serious look on his face as he ordered the cake that the magician had been drooling all over. The elderly woman seemed to notice something the other three boys didn't because she only gave a soft laugh and did as she was asked.

When the cake was put into a plastic case, the woman gave the cake to Hakuba. Without a word, the teen turned and shoved the cake gently into the baffled thief's hands.

"W-What is this for?" he stuttered.

"Eat it." was the reply he received.

"What?!"

His gaze snapped up to watch as the scowl on his rival's face morphed into a smirk. "If you don't want it, I'll take it back." His smirk only grew when Kaito pulled the cake to his chest and let out an animalistic growl. The lady behind the counter broke out into giggles that sounded like bells as Shinichi smiled. Even Hattori smirked from where he had been standing near the door!

That was when the Osakan pulled away from the door as he approached the blushing thief. "Okay, I've decided." Everyone looked at the tanned boy with curiosity written clearly on their faces.

"You want to prove to me that you can be trusted, Kuroba?" He smiled as he received a very eager series of nods. "Then you'll have to pass my test." He ignored the glare he received from Kudou and Hakuba as the boy before him suddenly turned serious. Boy was he going to be surprised.

"The test is simple. I originally planned for there to be several tests, but this one should be enough." Everyone was watching with a new sense of foreboding. Something didn't feel right with how Hattori was looking at Kaito.

"Kendo."

" _Eh?!_ "

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Did anyone see that coming? I sure didn't. The challenge has been decided! Will Kaito be able to survive a kendo match with Heiji?! I haven't seen any scenes or clips from the show that hints that Kaito knows how to use a sword, or any other weapon than a gun for that matter. He looked so cool when he blasted out those windows with that automatic gun!
> 
> The challenge will take place next chapter! I'll see you all there!


	6. The Test of Hattori Heiji

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whew! Chapter five is a go! I spent all day sitting in front of my iPad typing this. The original way I was going to have it end was changed when I read some reviews and got inspired to continue. I was originally going to let this be the final chapter with two short after story chapters, but decided against it when I got some inspiration from some good readers.
> 
> Special thanks to MoonlightMelody and Lighted Candle. You two have inspired at least three or four chapters.
> 
> And now, on with the story!

" _Eh?!_ "

"Ya heard me," Heiji said with a grin. "I challenge ya to a kendo match, Kuroba Kaito." He declared this while looking a stunned magician straight in the eyes.

Kaito looked on with confusion as he tried to process what the detective had just said. While he had expected that he had to prove himself eventually, he wasn't expecting an actual fight with swords, real or not.

Conan quickly spoke up.

"Oi, Hattori! That's going too far!" He walked up to Heiji with an irritated expression on his face. He realizes that Heiji has been trying to look out for him, but this was too much. "Kaito is perfectly trustworthy. If he wanted to try anything, he would have done it by now!"

Saguru, who had been watching Heiji with a look of exasperation, turned his gaze to Conan. The boy had dropped the 'niichan' from both boys' names and even called Heiji Hattori. This child was acting surprisingly mature for his age.

He continued to observe as Heiji walked up to Conan and picked him up by the back of his jacket. Conan squirmed in his grip, but Heiji held fast and carried him off until they were out of sight. They rounded a corner before Heiji dropped Conan to the floor.

"What was that for, ahou?!" Conan hissed. Heiji looked around the corner one last time before returning his gaze to the boy who was trying to burn a hole into his head.

"Look, Kudou," Heiji said in a pacifying tone. When Conan's glare finally calmed down, the Osakan continued. "This test isn't for me, okay? It's for Kuroba." The shrunken detective's face twisted into a confused expression. What was Heiji talking about?

"I already know that we can trust Kuroba."

_Eh?_

Heiji had an almost apologetic look on his face and looked like he was trying not to look Conan directly in the eye, instead choosing to keep his gaze just above the child's head. It was such a surreal sight that the Detective of the East had a hard time believing that this was his best friend and rival.

When Heiji finally looked at him again, his expression was more resolved. "Just hear me out, Kudou. With the way I've been treatin' Kuroba these past two days, I've realized that if I jus' walk up ta him now and start actin' all chummy, he'd prob'ly jump ta the conclusion that I was plannin' ta poison his food or somethin'." The teen looked a little guilt ridden, which showed that he had both realized his mistake and was thoroughly embarrassed by it. "Tha only way I could think ta show him that was ta challenge him ta at least one match."

Conan both felt like trying to comfort the hot blooded boy and kicking him in the shins with his shoes powered all the way up. This was his friend's way of showing that he wanted to make amends with his other friend? He could feel a headache coming on.

"Why a kendo match, though?" Conan finally said, exasperation clear in his voice. This situation was getting more and more ridiculous by the moment.

"Kendo solves all problems! I was thinking a baseball game, but I don't have enough people to form two teams." Conan felt his body twitch. "Then I thought about challenging him to a detective face off," the child shot him a warning glare that seemed to go completely unnoticed, "but then I remembered how he reacted to the mere mention of dead bodies and decided against it." Conan allowed his expression to smooth out a little. At least Hattori was making an effort to try and be observant of people who weren't murder suspects.

When Conan looked back on his early days as a detective when he had still been Shinichi, he cringed as he remembered how he treated people. In a way, becoming Conan had taught him a little humility and how to pay more attention to his friends. He couldn't say that he was really the same as he was back then at least.

However, at this rate, Hattori was as bad, if not worse, than how he had acted back then. If he didn't shape up soon, he and Kazuha would drift apart like he and Ran had. The last thing he needed was Hattori hanging around his house because he and Kazuha had gotten into another fight.

"You just want to be better at something since Kaito has been one-upping you in everything ever since you barged through the front door."

Heiji gave a huff and looked away, although Conan could have caught a hint of red on his cheeks along with some muttered cursing.

* * *

Saguru turned his gaze towards Kaito when the odd duo disappeared around the corner to who knows where. The magician still had a stunned look on his face. If anything, Kaito even looked like he was going to be sick with how green he was turning.

"You know...," the younger boy turned his head in the blonde's direction so quickly that he probably got whiplash. Saguru almost flinched at the worry that he had glimpsed before that damned poker face slammed down over his face, smoothing his features into a carefree smile. He hesitantly continued. "You don't have to participate in Hattori's stupid sport. He's just an idiot."

Kaito just sighed. "I have to do this if I want Hattori-kun to trust me. This is the only way I can get him to understand that I won't do anything to Conan." Saguru bristled. He hated the defeated tone that made its way into Kaito's usually cheerful voice. He scoffed as he replied, "If Hattori thinks that you would ever do anything to hurt that little boy, he's an even bigger idiot than I thought."

Kaito watched as Saguru muttered under his breath about retarded detectives and something about needing a baseball bat. He had to stop the smile that tried to force its way onto his lips. So even the great Tantei-san can be silly sometimes, too. He instead smirks as he decides to do some harmless teasing.

"So, Hakuba. How did you wind up in Beika on such a beautiful day?" He worked his expression into one of mock horror as he raised the pitch of his voice. "Are you stalking me again?" He almost laughed when the lady behind the counter doubled over to hide her laughter. At least she has a sense of humor.

He watched, highly amused, as Hakuba's face went bright red and he began to sputter. It was actually quite refreshing to enjoy some time with the Brit that had nothing to do with a heist or any accusations of being KID or any threats of being put behind bars.

He could only allow his smirk to grow as Hakuba tried to make some kind of argument, but failed miserably. Finally he gave in to the urge to laugh, only to laugh even harder as Hakuba directed a scathing glare his way. He was just too easy.

After a moment of continuous teasing by both Kaito and the woman (whose name turned out to be Ogino Satsuki, but she insisted they call her Satsuki-obaachan), Conan and Hattori came back from wherever the heck they went. Conan looked like he wanted to decapitate the tanned boy, while Hattori was doing his best not to look at the shrunken form of the devil himself walking next to him. When Conan caught sight of Kaito, he immediately ran to the larger teen's side and grabbed his left hand. Hattori looked slightly miffed, but didn't put up an actual argument like Kaito had been expecting.

"So where will the test take place, Hattori?" Conan asked. He already slipped up in front of Hakuba already, so he might as well keep it up. If he changed too quickly, the blonde would get suspicious. Heiji sent him a disbelieving glance before saying, "We should keep to the house since we'll probably suffer an injury or two. You have a first aid kit, right?" Conan stiffened.

What was this talk of injuries?

* * *

The walk back wasn't very long, but was filled with an almost awkward silence. Thankfully, Kaito didn't seem to notice as he enjoyed the cake he was currently busy chowing down on. The sight broke the tension as the three remaining teens burst into laughter. When Kaito could only give them all an innocent look that rivaled that of an actual child, they only laughed harder.

By the time they got back, Kaito had finished his cake and the awkwardness had dissolved into companionable chatter. At least between Kaito and Conan. Saguru and Heiji looked like they were about to murder each other. However, the other two ignored their squabbling as Kaito told Conan more about his school life. Conan looked like he was going to die from lack of oxygen as the thief boasted about the time he had scared Aoko when they had been trapped in school over night. The thought of Kaito being hit by a mop that hard was worrying, but the mental image of him scaring his childhood friend that badly had sent him into a giggle fit.

After Kaito unlocked the front door, they made their way into the house. Heiji had instantly made his way out to the backyard. Saguru had asked Conan where the kitchen was and, after receiving his answer, immediately made his way in its direction. That had left Conan and Kaito alone in the foyer.

Better tell him now and get it over with.

Conan took a deep breath and gave a light tug on Kaito's sleeve, quickly gaining his attention. With a sheepish smile, he directed him towards the stairs. Giving a cheerful smile of his own, Kaito followed him to the steps as they sat next to each other.

"What's up, Shin-chan?" Kaito inquired easily. It wasn't often that Shinichi would ever look this uneasy. It probably had something to do with a detective he didn't know very well being in his house. He didn't know how right he was.

Shinichi gave weary sigh as he tried to work up the nerve to say what he needed to. It was probably better to be blunt.

"I want you to tell Hakuba the truth."

"WHAT?!"

In a split second, Kaito was back on his feet as he whirled on Shinichi. Was the boy insane?! And why was he even bringing this up so suddenly and out of no where? If this had been a story, this would be completely out of the blue. It didn't make any sense!

Shinichi looked nonplussed for a second before he schooled his expression. He knew what Kaito was so shocked about. He had known Hakuba long enough to trust him, but he also didn't want to get the half-Jap involved for his own safety.

He remembered what Kaito had told him about Hakuba the last time he had brought up telling him the truth a month ago. If he found out about the BO, he would probably not let it go until he eventually gained their attention. The last thing Kaito wanted was to lose another precious person to the Crows claws. Not after what happened to his father.

He just wished that Kaito and Hakuba would admit they were friends already.  
Instead he said, "I don't see why not. He obviously knows that your Kaitou KID and hasn't tried to arrest you for at least a year, right?"

Kaito opened his mouth to try and give some form of argument, but the words died on his tongue. He wanted so badly to object, but he couldn't form the words. They were right there in his throat, but they refused to leave is mouth, to make themselves known. Shinichi watched Kaito struggle for a second before standing up as well.

"Look at me, Kai." Kaito gave a start as he met Shinichi's resolute gaze. His eyes were firm, but also understanding. He almost flinched when the shrunken teen raised his tiny arms so that tiny hands rested on his pale face. He felt his pulse slow down the longer he stared into those eyes. He briefly wondered if Shinichi knew real magic like Akako.

"I know you're worried about Hakuba, but I really do think that telling him is the best choice. I also believe that you should tell him about your own situation, Kai." At Kaito's reluctant expression, he reassured, "I'm not saying to tell him everything at once, but if you don't, then you'll regret it. I know you will. I can't be with you everyday, Kai. I can't watch your back as much as I wish I could, but Hakuba can. And you can make sure to keep him in line when he tries to dig too deep."

His joking tone was finally able to earn a small smile from the conflicted teen in front of him. It was wavering and unsure, showing just how off balance his emotions probably were. Kaito wanted to tell Saguru everything, but would it be worth it in the long run?

"Think about it this way. Hakuba was worried about you, right?" Shinichi almost laughed at the startled look he got in response. Kaito really could be dense when he wanted to be. "Today at the shop, when he showed up, he hit you, right? And then right after that, he had hugged you and even bought you that cake you were fantasizing about marrying." He actually did laugh when Kaito blushed and tried to vehemently deny that he was 'doing such a childish thing'.

Finally he dropped his hands and walked down the stairs past the thief and made his way towards the sliding doors that led to his backyard patio. Before exiting, however, he looked at the thief from over his shoulder.

"Just think about it."

And then he was gone out the back, leaving behind a very conflicted Kaito alone in the large, empty foyer.

What was he going to do?

* * *

Heiji grunted as he pulled out from his stretched position. It was refreshing to be doing something so familiar. With the whirlwind of change that had come with his introduction with the thief, he had felt like his world had spun out of control. Everything he thought he knew about the kaitou was being challenged. In the short span of just two days he learned so much about his adversary that he was actually a little ashamed about he had treated him.

The cause of his recent frustrations was on the other side of the yard as he fidgeted nervously. Kaito wasn't sure he wanted to go through with the idea of fighting the Osakan. The teen was like a freaking giant powerhouse with more than enough strength to back it up. He could probably crush Kaito without using fifty percent of his power. The thief tried to remind himself that if things went south that he could easily outrun him though. Kaito was used to running for his life, so he had a lot of stamina and evading Aoko at school and the police and the Crows at heists, he was pretty sure he had the speed to back that up.

On the sidelines, Conan and Saguru watched with comprehension. Conan tried to not to chew on his lip as he glanced back and forth between Heiji and Kaito. He knew that when Heiji fought in tournaments that he tended to get carried away. What would he do if the idiot forgot that he was fighting Kaito, got a little too violent, and actually hurt the magician? Why would Hattori even pick a sport where there was a chance of jarring Kaito's wound?

Next to him, Saguru was having similar thoughts. If Hattori was too rough, he could seriously harm his classmate. He still remembered the shoulder injury that the other had. He didn't know how serious it was, but he could remember with startling clarity when those short months ago had revealed how bad the injury probably was when Kuroba had almost collapsed as Aoko gave him a rough slap on it. They had both almost had heart attacks that day.

He could only hope the injury had healed enough that it wouldn't cause Kuroba any problems during the match. It didn't look like the tanned boy was going to hold back.

Back on the field the two boys began to make their way towards the center of the ridiculously large yard. When they were only a few feet apart, they stopped. Heiji easily let his body instinctively move him into the familiar stance of battle. Kaito observed him nervously behind his poker face and, with slight hesitance, mirrored the other. He had to do this, but he was still having second thoughts. Maybe he could still make a break for it before he was turned into an unrecognizable mess of bloody flesh on the grass as Hattori laughed above him. Maybe he was hanging out with Shinichi too much with how quickly that thought had spiraled towards death.

His thoughts were cut off when Heiji lunged forward with a large, exaggerated sweep of his wooden sword. Kaito barely had a second to react and bring up his own sword to block the blow. However, when their blades collided, he nearly crumbled under the force behind the attack. He couldn't hide his wince when his shoulder protested against the abuse.

Heiji felt regret immediately form in his gut as he looked at the pained expression on the younger boy's face. He hadn't meant to be so rough in his attack, but he had forgotten to hold back when he had seen that familiar poker face that he had seen so many times taunting police both on TV and in the newspapers. He knew he would pay for this later if Kudou had anything to say about it.

"Is that tha best ya got, thief?" Heiji hissed. Kaito raised masked indigo eyes to his own blue. "If ya want me ta trust ya ta help look after Kudou, ya gotta do a lot better than that." He watched as something snapped into place in the magician's eyes. His eyes roamed over Heiji's face as if looking for something. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it as his face turned determined and resolve settled in his now unwavering gaze.

With a force Kaito didn't even know he had, he pushed the Osakan away. He heard Hattori give a grunt of surprise as he was flung a short distance back. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Kaito to put som extra distance between them. Fighting Hattori was going to be way different from fighting Yaiba. While Yaiba had been a child, Hattori was a teenager. A very large and well muscled teenager with enough strength to probably put a dent in a car with a single punch. Or was Kaito overestimating him? One never knows when it came to Tantei-kun's friends.

When he recovered from the surprising force of the push, Heiji lunged forward a second time. Thankfully, Kaito was prepared this time. With ease that slightly awed the detective and their small audience, he dodged to the side. Careful as to not give the kaitou a chance to breathe, Heiji kept up the tempo as he attacked again and again. However, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't seem to catch the smaller teen off guard. He couldn't move as fast as Kuroba when he tried to keep up the speed. He was just that much faster.

Meanwhile, as Heiji was beginning to think if he'd ever even land a hit, Kaito was formulating a plan. Hattori was fast, but put too much weight into his attacks. He watched as the teen's feet kicked up dust every time he charged forward. It was then that the perfect plan formed in the erratic genius's head. He suppressed a smirk before he could give himself away.

Heiji was beginning to get very frustrated with his situation. He still hadn't been able to land a single hit yet! He watched as Kuroba finally stopped moving all over the yard and stood still in the very center of the grass. He remained unmoving as he stared at Heiji. However, since he was pretty sure he was cursed with universal stupidity, Heiji ignored it and once again rushed forward. He realized his mistake too late as Kaito smirked and was engulfed in pink smoke.

Bringing himself to a stop seemed rather difficult as he tried to slow his speeding gait, but realized it was far too late to stop now. With a hard sweep of something solid hitting his legs, he was sent sprawling onto the ground. He was pretty sure he fell face first with how much his face was burning.

Kaito withheld a wince when Hattori crashed with more force than he had expected. While he was pretty sure he would have to think up some way to apologize later, he still had to end the match now before Heiji could get back up. Pulling a long string of rope from inside his sleeve (you never know when you'll need it), he quickly set to work with binding the teen from his arms to his ankles. How he could fit that much rope in his clothes without it being noticeable was anyone's guess.

Conan, who had been watching from his seat on the patio, smirked as the smoke cleared. He was pretty sure he heard a snort next to him, but ignored it in favor of getting down from his chair and making his way onto the field. After pulling himself together, Saguru followed.

Once they reached the two teens, Kaito turned and looked at them with a large grin that rivaled the Cheshire Cat's. "Match set!" he proclaimed with enthusiasm. Next to him, Heiji gave out a disbelieving groan.

Conan spares Kaito a smirk before he kneels next to Hattori's bound form. "You're an idiot, Hattori." It was as simple as that. Heiji spared him a glare that only seemed to make his smirk all the wider as he dug out his pocket knife. "Don't look at me like that. You're the one who challenged an international jewel thief with photographic memory." Heiji just gave a defeated sigh before he just sat back and let the child cut him free.

Saguru walked up to Kaito with an amused grin on his face. "Congratulations, Kuroba. You're just as amazing as you usually are." Kaito felt his face explode as he heard those words. He wasn't used to Hakuba complimenting him. Saguru just watched with a smile as Kaito tried to pull himself together. Before he can respond, however, he suddenly found himself in a headlock. He tried to set himself free, but the grip only tightened. He was about to start panicking when a large hand made its way into his hair and proceeded to make it even more messier than it already was.

"You're not half bad, Kuroba!"

* * *

In order to celebrate Kaito's win, the detectives decided to take him out for ice cream. When Conan had asked if that was okay, Kaito's response was to pick him up and grab Saguru by his sleeve before hauling them towards the front door, leaving Heiji behind to catch up. Apparently, that was a yes.

They were able to find a nice ice cream parlor that was actually not very far from the bakery owned by Satsuki-obaachan. When they reached the parlor they were surprised that it was owned by her husband, Ogino Tetsuya. Much like his wife, he insisted on being called Tetsuya-ojiisan. He had only laughed when Kaito had said that it was too long and had insisted on calling him Tets-chan. He also promised to pick out a nickname for his wife later.

This entire exchange was watched by the other teens who could only smile as they watched. It was a little humorous to watch the exchange between the two. It was almost like a real discussion between a grandfather and his grandson. They had ended up getting free ice cream as a gift when Conan explained that they were there to celebrate a victory.

What they weren't expecting was for Kaito to order three large tubs of chocolate ice cream. Apparently he was very fond of that flavor, if how quickly it disappeared was anything to go by. They watched in both amusement and silent horror as Kaito shoveled mouthful after mouthful down his throat. It was both fascinating and disturbing to see him make all three disappear in less than two minutes. They could only gape (save Conan since he knew how much the magician loved sweets) as Tetsuya gave a hearty laugh.

They stuck around and conversed to pass time until Saguru pointed out that it was time to go home. When Kaito tried to protested, Saguru had threatened to make him deal with Aoko on his own. He smirked when the boy blanched and quickly caved in. The last thing Kaito wanted to deal with was an angry Aoko by himself. Sure he teased her a lot, but she was terrifying when she was really angry.

They decided to at least see Heiji off first since his train left in a half hour and then they would take Conan back to the agency before heading home themselves.

By the time they reached the train station, it was sunset. The sky had turned an attractive range of colors like an artfully painted picture. They found themselves waiting in content silence as the train pulled in not five minutes later.

Heiji rose from the bench with a sigh. Even though the blonde bastard had shown up, he could honestly say that today hadn't been bad. He had actually quite enjoyed today quite a bit. If it was going to be this way every time Kuroba was around, he could admit that he was looking forward to spend more time with the brunette.

He turned around as the three remaining boys stood to see him off (well two since Hakuba wasn't looking at him). Conan was finally smiling at him again while Kaito was actually looking a little sad. This surprised the Osakan a little since he half expected the boy to be relieved he was leaving after all the trouble he had caused. The thought made him smile before pulling the teen into a one armed hug. He let out a small surprise that made Heiji smile wider before leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"Look out fer Kudou for me, Kuroba." He laughed at the look it received for it. "Stay outta of trouble, okay? I don' wanna come back an' find out that somethin' happened to ya." The stunned expression on Kaito's face was worth the slight burning that Heiji felt his face doing. He let the smaller boy go and waved a final goodbye as he rushed onto the train. The doors closed with a hiss as the train took off with a jerk.

Kaito watched the train leave with an unreadable expression. Sometimes, Tantei-han was very confusing. He felt a smile come to his face as he turned back to his companions. Conan was watching him with a small smile while Hakuba was looking him over before looking him in the eye. "What did Hattori say to you, Kuroba?" he demanded with an icy tone that betrayed the warm temperature of the evening. Kaito exchanged a short glance with Conan before returning to the Brit. With a straight face Kaito said:

"He said he was going to bring a chainsaw if I was here the next time he visited."

He smirked as Hakuba appeared to have an aneurysm and turned back to Conan. He blinked. Conan was bent over in a fetal position as he rocked back and forth in an obviously failed attempt to stop himself from laughing. He was slightly disturbed at the image since the boy looked like he was having a seizure. It would have been worrying if he hadn't known the child's real age and that he was just a very strange teenage boy, not that he was much better.

"Alright, that's enough out of you. Let's get you back to the agency before you die of suffocation." he said. The child made an obvious effort to stop himself from laughing to death and was making very little progress. After a moment, the laughter had finally stopped, but by then Conan's legs had turned to jelly and he was having a hard time standing. With a sigh, Kaito bent down and picked the boy up.

Together, they all began to make the trek back to the Mouri Detective Agency.

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wow. That was longer than I had thought. So how was it? Was the pacing off? Sorry for the late update. Nothing's working at my house, so I have focus on writing these stories on my iPad still. I'll probably have to do this very often until I transfer them to my account before copying and posting it to Microsoft Word on the library computers.
> 
> What should happen next? The talk that Kaito and Saguru have to have about identities? I have a cute scene already planned out for it involving a bus stop, Kaito falling asleep, and Hakuba seeing his seduction ability first hand via bus passengers. Or should I have him and Hattori find out together? How would that happen?
> 
> Let me know what you guys think in a review, please.
> 
> Until then, see you next chapter!


	7. Chocolate & Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This took forever to write, but it's finally here, people! Chapter 6 is finally ready! I had the cute idea about how the boys would meet again, but then it kinda got a little dark out of the blue.
> 
> I should probably warn you guys that murder will be committed in this chapter along with some creepy molestation. For those not strong enough for it, skip to the next chapter when they enter the alley and you'll be safe from having your brain molested along with one of the boys. Although, because of how the story has been going, I'm pretty sure everyone will know who gets attacked in this one.
> 
> Warnings have been said, so for those of you who want to risk it, I welcome you to enjoy this chapter, although don't enjoy it too much, okay?
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> \- Addict

A week later found things settling down.

Conan decided to use the downtime to finish his real homework. However, it was easier said than done. Ever since his life had returned to normal a week ago, he found himself wondering what Kaito was doing. Was the thief okay? Did he reopen his wound again? The thought almost worried him more than the Organization. The thunder from outside didn't really help his trail of thought.

After only thirty minutes after he had arrived at Agasa-hakasei's house for some peace and quiet (which was probably a bad idea), he found himself putting his homework aside as his worries wouldn't give him a moment's peace.

His thoughts were cut off when the doorbell rang. With a sigh, he jumped off the couch and made his way over to the door. But, when he opened the door, the last thing he expected to see was Hattori Heiji, still dressed in his school uniform, standing in his doorway. The dark clouds outside did nothing to keep the sunshine out of the teen's bright smile. He let out an exaggerated sigh.

"What are you doing here, Hattori? Are you skipping school again?"

The idiot had the nerve to put a hand to his chest in a false wounded gesture as he worked his expression into one of disbelief. Conan twitched at the very Kaito-like trait. Mentally he decided he was going to skin Hattori if he ever did it again.

"Do ya think so little of me, Kudou? After all the work I had to do just to get to Beika in one day?"

Bastard.

In an impatient tone, Conan gritted out, "Look, are you coming in or what?" He felt very tempted to smack his best friend in the face at the grin the older boy sent his way. Stomping down his irritation and stepping aside, Conan motioned for the Osakan to hurry up. With a smirk of some sort of sick satisfaction, because he was evil, Heiji sauntered into the house as if he owned the place. Conan's hands twitched towards his belt.

"So, where's Kuroba? Ain't ya two usually together a lot?" At least he actually looked genuinely confused.

"Kaito went back to Ekoda, remember? He couldn't just keep skipping school and get away with it." Conan withheld the urge to sigh. He was not going to get depressed about the thought of not seeing Kaito for a long time. "He and Hakuba went back right after they dropped me off at the agency."

When the confused look never left Hattori's face, Conan felt like applying his face to the nearest wall. "Yer tellin' me that ya haven't even tried ta visit Kuroba?" Heiji asked. He thought that Kudou and Kuroba were almost inseparable with the whole 'we could've been twins' thing going on. He understood how most friends who lived in different cities didn't get to see each other very often, but Kuroba blew that out of the water by doing what Heiji himself did best. Ditching school for a while.

Maybe something was holding Kudou back. And Heiji decided that he had enough of watching his friend's grumpy mood get worse the longer he didn't get to see Kuroba. After all, Heiji wanted to see the magician too.

"Why don'tcha jus' go over there an' visit him this time? It ain't really that far away, Kudou."

Conan gave Hattori a look that said he was mentally calling the teen all kinds of stupid. "If 'Conan' started disappearing just so I could go see Kaito, Ran would kill me."

Heiji sweat dropped as he pictured it. It was very true that Nee-chan would probably give Conan the scolding of a life time if he ever disappeared to run off somewhere. She'd probably say something about how Conan was starting to act just like Shinichi.  
It was a very ironic scene.

But he couldn't let that stop him. At least not when going long periods of time without seeing his 'cousin' put Kudou in this kind of mood.

" _All right, Kudou_ ," he sang in a slightly teasing tone. Conan turned to look at him with an apprehensive look. Whenever Hattori put that kind of tone in his voice, it usually spelled the coming of destruction in the near future. He was partially afraid to turn his back to the teen for a single second, lest he turn around and find the couch broken in half or the door ripped from its hinges.

Don't laugh, it's a legitimate fear.

"Knowing Kuroba, he's prob'ly mopin' aroun' his room 'bout now." He smirked when he noticed how Kudou tensed up. It was hilarious and a little sad when just the mere mention of Kuroba being upset seemed to trigger something in his best friend. He watched in amusement as Conan finally just sighed and appeared to cave in.

"Fine, let's-"

Before the words could even leave the sleuth's mouth, he was swept up by the waist and hauled like a sack of potatoes out of the house. He was silent as they made their way to the nearest bus stop, preferring to think up a few dozen ways to disembowel Hattori when they got back.

By the time they reached the bus stop, the bus had just been pulling up. With a type of vigor that seemed better fit for someone with Conan's appearance, Hattori raced up to the vehicle and payed their fee. Conan rolled his eyes at his friend's childishness from where he was still curled in the teen's elbow. Sometimes he had to ask himself why he was friends with this idiot.

As they both took their seats, he could see the disapproving glances a few adults sent their way. But Conan couldn't really bring himself to care, although he knew what they were thinking. He had to admit that it must look a little (okay really) bad since it looked like both of them were skipping school. Well, technically Conan got out early because of the weather. It looked like the storm was going to get really bad soon, so the teachers had sent the children home around lunch time so they could beat the storm home. Conan was going to kill Hattori if they got caught in it.

The ride was uneventful and they ended up having to switch to several different buses before they reached their destination.

* * *

By the time they reached the school, a light sprinkle had begun to fall. _At least the real storm hasn't started yet_ , Conan thought cynically. The sky looked like it might crack open at any moment and the Detective of the East was going to be damned if he was going to get caught in it.

They entered the entrance to the school, but to their mutual confusion, the receptionist wasn't sitting at the desk. However, they were still cautious when it came to sneaking past the office. Once Conan and Hattori were sure they had gotten safely past security, the two sleuths began their search for the classroom that held their friend captive on such a _lovely_ day. (Please note the sarcasm.)

Thankfully, they finally found their target on the second floor in the trap that was known as 2-B. Conan could only hope they weren't torturing the poor magician too much. However, when they opened the door, a whole new story was brought to mind. For Conan, it was a relief, but to Heiji, he could admit that he felt really jealous.

By the far window sat their target of retrieval. However, instead of being subjugated to torture via textbook or death by homework, Kaito was surrounded by classmates who all seemed to be in very high spirits despite the weather outside. Kaito had a smile on his face as he accepted a chocolate from one of his female classmates and added it to the growing pile on his desk.

Very belatedly, Conan realized that it was, in fact, Valentine's Day. That explains why Ran had asked him over the phone yesterday if he was planning on having a 'gift for her'. Thank goodness that he had actually gotten her a box of chocolates and sent it through the mail, although he still felt like an idiot for not realizing what she was referring to. But this was also a dangerous holiday as well.

He feels his body tense at the realization that this was, very much so, a dangerous holiday for Kaito. If Kaito's little ability were to rear its ugly head today, it would cause a lot of trouble for the brunette. With a gaze so sharp that it could cut rocks like butter, Conan analyzed the other teens surrounding the desk. Most of them had left and only two were remaining and talking to Kuroba. Thankfully, they seemed to just be discussing the oncoming storm and neither of them were really looking at Kaito in any special way. It was more like a friendly conversation between three classmates.

Finally sure that no one in the class was harboring any special feelings towards the thief, Conan let the tension drain from his body. However, in his relief, he missed the curious look that Heiji sent his way. What was Kudou so tense about?

Heart attack avoided, Conan decided to get some revenge for his friend's carelessness. It was only fair when the teen wasn't being more careful after the incident at Teitan a week and a half ago. The idiot needed to be more careful and keep his eyes open at all times. So, with his mind made up, he took a deep breath and -

" _Kaito-niichan!_ "

And then he proceeded to hide his laughter when Kaito appeared to have a seizure.

* * *

If there was one thing Kaito wasn't prepared for, it was the loud shout that came from the other side of the classroom. While he was busy having a spazz attack, the two remaining students turned their attention towards the cause of the commotion. The looks on their faces only confirmed what Kaito already expected and he finally looked over after he was sure his heart was still in his chest.

To say that he was surprised to see who was standing in his classroom doorway would be the understatement of the century. Shinichi, in all his shrunken glory, was looking like he was trying (and spectacularly failing) to hide his laughter while Hattori smiled at him from his spot next to the boy. However, just as quickly as his look of disbelief had settled onto his features, it changed into pure joy as he practically sprung from his seat and dashed across the classroom.

With probably far more force than necessary, Kaito picked up Conan in a bear hug and squeezed his little body for all that it was worth. He could of sworn that he heard the detective's cries for mercy and finally decided that enough was enough and dropped him back onto his feet. Then he turned his attention to the other detective and gave him a hug that was just as strong. He gave a short laugh at the embarrassed squawk he received in return, but still let the tanned Osakan go before he could return the hug and probably break all of his ribs.

Once he had pulled back, Kaito was full on beaming as he looked at his friends. "So why are you guys here?" His question seemed to startle Conan before the shrunken teen remembered how he had caved in so easily before and looked away in embarrassment. There was no way he was going to tell Kaito that he was worried about him being lonely. Thankfully, Hattori took the lead and decided to explain.

"We came ta see how ya were doin', Kuroba. It's been a week since either of us have seen ya."

With a playful sigh, Kaito dramatically through his head back with the back of his hand placed to his forehead. "Alas, I have been running from the monster known to all as Aoko." By this point he dropped his hand back to his side and the look of mirth was in his eyes. "She's relentless! For most of the week, she's been chasing me with her mop and trying to take my head off with it." This time, he turned his head to the side and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Why are girls always so terrifying?"

The last sentence caused Conan to let out a nervous laugh. He knew just how terrifying some women can be, especially Ran. Whenever Shinichi had struck a nerve with her, she would usually show just how upset she was by breaking something in front of him, usually concrete. But it must be worse for Kaito considering who his mother was and that his childhood friend wasn't afraid to hit him directly. That added up to both mental and physical scarring if the magician wasn't careful.

That thought wasn't able to get any darker, thanks to the arrival of Hakuba Saguru. He entered through the doorway and stood next to Conan as he leaned against the door frame. He sent Conan a pleasant smile before looking to Kaito, completely ignoring Hattori once again. Conan could practically hear the steam coming out of the hot headed boy's ears.

Saguru didn't seem to notice as he smirked at Kaito. Conan watched, befuddled, as the teen inquired, almost snootily, "Aren't you forgetting something, Kuroba?" Kaito looked startled for a second before his face turned into one of concentration, wondering what the blonde could possibly be talking about. Then, as if a light bulb had appeared above his head, Kaito perked up and spun on his heals towards his desk.

With far amusement than necessary, as a lot of things seem to be now a days, Saguru watched as the brunette threw his bag open and shuffled through it in search of his prize. With a small sound of triumph, he whirled around, his hands behind his back, and ran back towards his awaiting friends.

The two watched in curiosity as a charming blush spread across Kaito's face, tinting it a light pink that went pretty well with his suddenly twitchy persona. Finally pulling his arms out from behind his back, Kaito pushed two beautiful and neatly wrapped boxes into the startled teens' faces. Saguru only smirked at the boy's apparent nervousness. Both Japanese teens looked at the magician in surprise before accepting the boxes with grateful smiles on their faces. It was a shock to get chocolate from Kaitou KID of all people, but he was also the dorky Kaito that they had come to know. It was a great gift from an even greater friend.

Conan suddenly smirked as he came up with a delightfully evil idea. Kaito was always teasing them, so why not mess back a little?

"So..." Pause for dramatic effect. "Are they giri or honmei?"

While he had expected the brunette to playfully deny them being giri, or even tease them by asking what they would think if it was, he hadn't expected Kaito's already pink face to flush to a deeper red as he suddenly turned into a stuttering mess that could no longer form a single word, let alone a whole sentence. Conan and Heiji watched as Kaito appeared to choke on his own saliva and tried to get air back into his lungs as he coughed and choked on air.

After several moments of bewildered and choked efforts at speech, Kaito finally seemed to regain himself as he screamed in a high pitch that Conan was actually surprised the teen could reach despite his very peculiar vocal talent.

" _THEIR ONLY GIRI!_ "

With the way Saguru was laughing, both detectives could guess that their faces must have looked ridiculous. They could only look on as Kaito seemed to turn even redder and Saguru's smirk seemed to grow.

To the half Brit, it was actually quite funny. Not long before the two had arrived, Kaito had given Saguru his own chocolate. When a girl had asked if they were honmei, the ever oblivious teen had agreed without any hesitation. Needless to say that Saguru had to pull the teen to the side and ask him if he even even known what honmei chocolates were for. He had nearly passed out when Kaito had said that they were the types of chocolates that one gave to their friends. By the time Saguru had explained the difference, Kaito had looked on the verge of dying from embarrassment. It was a good day.

Pulling himself out of his reminiscent thoughts, Saguru brought himself back to the present. He was almost sent into another round of laughter when he watched as Conan was trying to get Kaito to get out of the fetal position he was curled into as he crouched on the floor, his face buried in his arms. Apparently, the boy was was over the clouds with embarrassment. Or was it six feet under?

Clearing his throat, the blonde gained the remaining boys' attention. "Do you guys want to come over? We're having a movie marathon at Kuroba's house after school today since the storm might cancel school tomorrow." Just like he had intended, Kaito unfurled himself in less than a second, startling Conan and Heiji as he whirled on Saguru. "And exactly when was such an activity supposed to take place, Hakuba?" The mixture of a pout and scowl on his face only succeeded in making the three boys laugh.

In the end, they all agreed to have the marathon at the Kudou Manor. Conan didn't miss the look of confusion on Hakuba's face before he conceded to the plan. Did Kaito still not tell Hakuba anything for the past week? Why had Kaito kept quiet for so long? The longer he went without telling Saguru anything, the harder it was going to be later.

But with their plans made they all gathered their things (which took a moment because of all of Kaito's chocolate) and made their way out of the school and back to the bus stop.

* * *

"Kuroba, you have to eat something else other than chocolate or else you'll have cramps later. Save some for later or you'll get sick! At least eat some of your bento as well. You haven't even touched it yet!"

Conan watched as Hakuba tried his hardest to get Kaito to eat actual food. It was a hopeless task, but the shrunken teen had to give him props for lasting as long as he did. However, he dare not say anything himself since he would be a hypocrite, with his equally unhealthy addiction to coffee.

That didn't make it any less entertaining to watch.

From his seat next to Hattori, he observed the scene in front of him with dawning comprehension. As he watched the two teen's interact (Hakuba trying to get Kaito eat at least a little of his bento as Kaito just shoved another chocolate into his mouth), he finally understood that Kaito really cared about his friendship with the Holmes-otaku. He probably valued his friendship with the blonde so much that he really didn't want to risk anything changing once he finally did tell the boy what his night job really amounted up to. It was a fragile bond that Kaito didn't want to risk breaking.

However, a detective didn't get anywhere by just assuming. If he wanted to get answers, he had to actually do a little investigating.

Conan waited for his chance and was rewarded when Hattori made a snarky remark about Hakuba being a control freak. This was all it took for Hakuba's attention to shift from fretting over Kaito's health, to glaring vehemently at Hattori. The two were quickly lost in an argument as Kaito just continued to chew blissfully on his chocolate. It was then that Conan chose to strike.

"Oi, Kaito," he hissed softly. It seemed to do the trick as Kaito lifted his head and turned in his seat to look at Conan. His head was cocked cutely to the side as chocolate was still smeared on his left cheek. Conan had to try really hard to not smile.

"Why didn't you tell Hakuba anything?"

In a split second, Kaito's face shuttered closed. He wouldn't look Conan in the eye, choosing to instead look out the window. But, Conan could still see the abrupt sadness in Kaito's gaze, the reluctance as well as a silent plea. The teen was arguing with himself internally over what course of action he should take. There was a fork in the road with no sign to tell him which way to go. He was conflicted and the solution only seemed to elude him.

With more understanding than anyone could probably give, Conan reached out and grabbed Kaito's hand, which was still rested on the back of the seat. With a start, Kaito turned to look back at him again. But when he saw the look on Conan's face, he seemed to relax to the point of sleepiness as a tired, but grateful smile rose to his lips. Conan could only return the gesture.

* * *

The ride didn't seem to take so long after that. Saguru and Heiji argued for most of the ride before ignoring each other for the duration of their last transfer. Conan had kept his hand in Kaito's for almost the entire journey, only letting go so that he could climb into Kaito's lap after the first transfer. His presence seemed to sooth the magician enough that he slept until they finally reached their last destination (although he had to be awoken at every transfer).

When they exited the bus into Beika, the rain had picked up slightly. It was only enough to be considered a drizzle, but all of them knew that it would later turn into a downpour if they didn't get to the manor soon. They were making their way down the block, however, when it happened.

A scream.

Immediately, all the detectives rushed in the direction of the sound, their blood pumping in their ears. However, KID had remained uncaptured for a reason. With speed that the others couldn't even match in their dreams, Kaito dashed towards the danger. Conan, who was being held in his arms, was actually surprised that, even when half asleep, Kaito could run at such speeds.

However, when they reached the alley that they were sure the scream came from, they stopped dead in their tracks as horror seized their hearts. It was a discovery that Kaito wished they hadn't made.

A tall man, probably close to six foot, stood over the bloodied corpse of a girl. Upon closer examination, the girl was likely a teen, possibly their age if not younger. It broke Kaito's heart as well as made him question how somebody could do such a thing to such a young girl.

It was then that the smell of blood that lay heavy in the air seemed to hit him in the stomach like a hammer, causing him to squeeze Conan even closer to his body. However, Conan made no sound of discomfort or showed any signs that he even registered the extra force. He was busy observing the man, more than likely the killer if the bloody knife in his hand meant anything.

The man was slightly slouched and wearing a heavy trench coat. His hair wasn't neat, but it also wasn't wild like Kaito's. He was wearing what looked like combat boots, the types with steel toes. He also smelt of cologne that reeked of dead flowers and the heavy stench of alcohol only indicated that he was drunk. This was obviously a very dangerous man.

Both teens tensed when the man finally turned around. He abruptly froze, his drunken sway coming to a halt, as his bloodshot eyes came to rest on his unwanted visitors. But they didn't stay still for long as his eyes began roaming up and down with interest. Conan felt sick to his stomach as he watched the stranger drink in the sight in front of him with obvious pleasure. However, his blood ran cold as he realized that the man was not, in fact, looking at him.

He was looking at Kaito.

_Dammit!_

Before Conan could turn his head to warn Kaito and just tell him to run, he was experiencing a very bad sense of deja vu as he was abruptly dropped to the pavement. Cursing himself for not seeing the man move and wondering where on earth were the other two detectives who had been right behind them, Conan quickly pulled himself to his feet and looked for Kaito, fear of the inevitable already in his mind. But when he finally found his friend, he feels his stomach drop.

Before him, in all its horrible truth, was the sight he wished he had never seen. The man had grabbed Kaito in a similar way that the boy from the school had, but in a more aggressive fashion. He had Kaito pinned to the brick wall behind him and had the teen's forearms in a vice grip, trapped on both sides of his head. In a manner that the man probably considered arousing, he had his knee between Kaito's legs.

Conan felt himself go numb as he took in Kaito's confused and fearful expression. The only other time Kaito had been in a similar situation to this one had been back at Teitan, but the boy from there hadn't been as aggressive as the drunken shell of a man in front of them. He wasn't prepared for a situation like this one. With both of his arms trapped, he couldn't set off any of his smoke or flash bombs and the knee between his legs probably left him very uncomfortable and unable to think straight. It had all occurred so fast that Kaito was probably still trying to process exactly what just happened.

Conan's shock and worry soon turn to anger as the man leans forward, intimately close, to Kaito's face. Kaito's eyes turned panicked as he looked away and squeezed his eyes shut in a feeble, but desperate attempt to avoid looking at the man in front of him. But then he felt something _warm_ and _wet_ against his neck and felt his body freeze up and his eyes snapped back open. This murderer and possible rapist had just _licked_ him. He couldn't see or hear anything else as his brain seemed to shut down.

Conan saw red. Sadly, before he could run forward and kick the man in the crotch, possibly damaging him forever, a figure raced past him. With a solid and forceful shove, both the figure and the molester were thrown to the pavement. The sound of a scuffle was only background noise as another figure raced past him and up to Kaito. Conan thanked every type of deity out there when he recognized Saguru.

Finally able to get control of his legs, Conan ran over to were Hakuba was trying and failing at calming down a hyperventilating Kaito. As he approached the shivering teen who had curled in on himself, he felt all of the anger in his body once again turn into concern. Kaito was muttering something indistinguishable under his breath. He stared ahead, his eyes seemingly blank and distant, as he stared at nothing. But, when Conan came within his line of sight, something seemed to snap into place in Kaito's eyes and he immediately shot out his arms and pulled the sleuth into his lap, circling his arms around the small body as he pressed the pseudo child to his chest. His heart was beating so fast.

It was while he was in this grip, that Conan could hear what Kaito was finally saying. He could hear small ramblings that didn't make much sense, much like what had just taken place a moment ago. However, most of the words seemed to be bits and pieces of comforting words and phrases.

Conan could feel his heart constrict.

In a last ditch effort to calm the boy down before he passed out from lack of oxygen, Conan brought his little hands up to Kaito's face and took it in a gentle hold. He felt like the air was knocked out of his lungs when Kaito tensed up. He had to calm him down fast or the poor boy was going to die of a heart attack.

"Kai-chan...," he said softly. The teen seemed to relax slightly as he looked Conan in the eye. Brilliant tanzanite, darkened with concern, and indigo, teemed with confusion, clashed. Finally, the rest of the tension left the larger boy as if a flood gate had been opened.

"Shin-chan," he whispered, desperation clear on his voice. Conan - no he was Shinichi now - felt Hakuba jolt behind him, but ignored him in favor of keeping an eye on Kaito. He only nodded as he looked the younger brunette in the eye.

"It's okay now, Kai. The bad man is gone. You're going to be fine, I promise."

His body seemed to freeze over again when tears began to pool in Kaito's eyes. It was the saddest thing he had ever seen, right next to all the times he was forced to watch as Ran cried because of him. But the ice that had settled in his bones was nothing compared to the heart attack he received when Kaito's eyes fluttered shut and he suddenly slumped to the side. Thankfully, his descent was cut short by Saguru catching him in his arms.

Belatedly, both boys realize that the sound of fighting had stopped. Turning around, both boys tensed as a shadowed figure approached them from further back in the alley. The figure continued its advance until it was standing not far from them. The light from the street lamps passed over the stranger, revealing him to be Hattori. He had a bruise on his face and his lip looked like he was bleeding, but it was the Osakan, alive and in the flesh. Both boys relaxed once again with a simultaneous sigh of relief.

The tanned boy took a moment to assess the situation in front of him. He took in Hakuba's worried expression, Shinichi's tired face, and Kaito's tear streaked cheeks. He felt his blood boil at the sight of all his friends in such a state.

" _Anybody wanna tell me what the hell's going on 'ere?!_ " Hattori demanded. Hakuba's only response was to look down in shame, unable to find nor give an answer. Shinichi hesitated, but quickly caved in when he remembered that keeping a secret from Hattori only resulted in physical trauma via fists.

Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke. "It appears that..," he paused when he got both teens' attention, but continued anyway, knowing what would happen if he stopped there. "It appears that the man was subjected to Kaito's Secret Seduction Ability." The only response he received were bewildered looks and a sort of dying animal noise from Heiji.

"What tha hella ya talkin' about K-K-Conan?"

Shinichi sighed with frustration. Why was his best friend so brilliant at times and then a total idiot for all the others? "Kaito has this kind of unconscious thing that he does that seems to attract people to him. The only downside is that they suddenly see him as a potential lover of sorts and try to get his attention." When the looks on their faces didn't change, except for a slight twitch from Hakuba, Shinichi continued, "In short, people become attracted to Kaito sexually and try to date him." He paused as he looks back at the darkened part of the alley where the molester likely lay unconscious. "Although this is only the first time I've seen anyone go that far. The only time I've seen anyone go beyond trying to touch Kaito was back at Teitan."

When he looked back at the two detectives, they looked shocked. Hakuba looked like he was going to have a mental breakdown while Hattori looked about ready to explode like a volcano with how red his face was turning.

" ** _And ya didn' tell us this why?!_** "

Shinichi winced at the volume of his friend's shout. While Hattori had every right to be angry, ha hadn't expected him to get this upset. It only showed him just how fond Heiji had become of Kaito ever since their reconcile a week ago. When he gave a glance at Saguru, the blonde only nodded stiffly, signifying that he felt the same way for once.

Before Shinichi could say anything, however, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Looking down at Kaito (which was a first) he saw Kaito's face was scrunched up in discomfort and he appeared to be in pain. Leaning down, he pressed his hand to the brunette's forehead, but quickly pulled back at the heat he felt radiating from it. Was Kaito sick? Making one more effort to check Kaito for any wounds, Shinichi made a sound of alarm when he noticed a bloodied rip in the side of the boy's uniform. He remembered the knife the man had earlier and felt his heart stop. Kaito had been stabbed. That bastard had _stabbed_ Kaito.

Suddenly, he was pulled away from Kaito by Hattori as Hakuba moved to pick up the unconscious teen in a bridal hold. Looking panicked, Saguru turns his frantic gaze to Heiji who in turn looks to Shinichi. The Detective of the East knew that with this serious of an injury, the last thing he needed was to be worrying about keeping his secret and that he should be more worried about finding Kaito immediate medical attention. With this thought in mind, Shinichi gave Heiji a resolute nod. They both knew where to take him if they wanted him to live.

Message received, Heiji bent down and picked up Shinichi by his waist, much like he had that morning before everything had gone to hell. The Osakan turned to Saguru, and with a jerk of his head, took off out of the alley. Saguru made sure not to fall behind.

The sky finally broke.

* * *

Unknown to the quartet of geniuses, the cause of all their present and future problems was just across the street seated in a restaurant. He had slicked back hair that reached his shoulders and a face that could only belong to an extremely attractive model. A pair of sunglasses sat on the bridge of his nose while he sipped on his coffee as if it were tea as he watched the rain turn into a downpour.

He put the cup back onto the table as he continued to look out of the window. What he saw both slightly surprised him and highly intrigued him. Two teenagers had just ran out of an alley, one carrying a child and the other had an unconscious form in his arms. He smiled as he recognized the first teen as Hattori Heiji, the hot blooded Detective of the West. The child in his arms actually happened to be 'KID Killer' Edogawa Conan, a young detective who was known to be so smart that he was one of the only two people who could come close to predicting the mind of Kaitou KID himself. The second teen was Hakuba Saguru, the detective from England who had come to Japan to chase Kaitou KID, but didn't do any better than Edogawa did.

It was rare to see all three great detectives in one spot, let alone in the same city. Edogawa lived in Beika, but Hattori lived in Osaka and Hakuba lived in Ekoda. What were they all doing here?

He came up short when he noticed the fourth boy in the group. His face was hidden behind his bangs and he was pressed too closely to the blonde to make him out too well. He could tell that the boy was a teenager as well, but couldn't make out much more than that. But the boy wasn't a detective like the others or else he would have noticed, scant details or not.

He felt his smirk widen as he watched them disappear down the street.

"Things just got interesting." he murmured.

He pulled his face into a pleasant smile as the waitress came up to the table. She blushed as she scurried away, hiding her face behind the tray. She didn't even notice that she hadn't collected his money for the food.

With a dramatic sigh, the man stood from his seat and set the proper amount (plus a handsome amount as a tip) and grabbed his umbrella from beside his seat. It was old fashioned and looked like the kinds one carried by geisha's in old paintings. Even in the finest weather, it didn't hurt to be prepared for any kind of storm.

As he exited the restaurant, he couldn't help but think of the four boys he saw. He felt a smile curl onto his lips as he remembered the one that was unconscious.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So how was it? I need to know if I did all right! Like I promised earlier, the next chapter will be full of reveals. Why hadn't Kaito told Saguru the truth? Why is his wound still irritable after two months? When did he get the wound? Who is the new stranger? Black Organization? Or something just as sinister? What happened to the giant cake Kaito made in chapter 3? Too random? Hahahahaha! ;)
> 
> Drop me a review and tell me how you guys think the story should progress? This is a story for the fans. If I get a certain amount of reviews about which scenario the story will take, I will give credit to the reviewers who dropped the comments.
> 
> Thanks guys! Drop a review and tell me what you think!
> 
> \- Addict


	8. Secrets & Friendships Sealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Chapter 7 is up and running, peoples. This was planned to be the final chapter before the epilogue, but that has changed. Some questions will be answered and characters brought in after far too long. The mystery of what happened to the giant cake will finally be solved!
> 
> Enjoy the new addition to the Friendship Status storyline!
> 
> \- Addict

Overhead, the sound of thunder tried to crack open the sky as it shook the foundation of the house. Inside, the boys didn't even flinch as they sat in silence. The three detectives were seated around a single bed that held their unconscious friend. On the bed, Kaito lay so still that he could be mistaken for a corpse.

Sitting in the chair by the wall, Conan let out a sigh as he thinks about how close that statement had been to coming true. If they had been any later, they wouldn't be seated here now and Kaito would have been gone. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought and Hattori, being the observant idiot that he was (why wasn't he observant when it came to normal things; it would save him and Kazuha a lot of arguments), he slung his now dry arm around Conan's small shoulders and gave a comforting squeeze. In a last ditch effort to hide how shaken he was, the shrunken teen tried to smile, but it only came out small and probably looked really forced. Heiji only gave him an understanding nod.

In front of them, from where he moved his chair, Hakuba was sitting next to Kaito's bed, sound asleep. His face was still scrunched up in worry, even though the blonde fell asleep hours ago. He was doing far worse than both boys. He slumped so that he was half sitting and half laying on the bed, his upper torso rested next to the unconscious boy as he gripped Kaito's smaller, more nimble hand in his own large one. It was so surreal to think about how close Saguru had come to losing his best friend (even though he was still a little reluctant to say it out loud and ruin it). While he did like his classmates, Kaito had been the first to look past his money and just see Hakuba Saguru. He didn't care about Saguru's money, or job, or social standing. Kaito had looked at him and had seen a boy his own age who he wanted to get to know better.

Over the past week, Kaito has shown him what having a real friend was like. They had spent most of the week over at Kaito's house, eating snacks, studying, and just acting like the normal teenagers that they wanted so badly to be. But then everything went straight to hell. Kaito had been injured and Saguru hadn't been able to do anything.

Oblivious to his friends' worry, Kaito continued to sleep, both from exhaustion and the painkillers that Haibara had doped him up with. He looked just like the portrait of sadness with his skin pale and clammy, making his hair stick to his forehead. It was unreal.

Heiji watched as Hakuba seemed to unconsciously move himself closer to the sleeping brunette. He actually moved so close that he was almost resting his head on Kuroba's shoulder. How had things turned out like this, he thought bemusedly.

The memory of everything they learned that day resurfaced in his mind, still crystal clear.

* * *

The rain mercilessly beat down on the boys as they made their way towards Agasa-hakasei's. Heiji ran, still in the lead, as he carried Conan under one of his arms. They didn't have the option of slowing down as they continued to race towards the house that was only a block away. Behind them, Saguru made sure not to fall behind, staying right on their heels. He was beginning to panic when he noticed how ragged Kaito's breathing was. He was also terrified to note that the boy's fever had spiked and could only pray that the knife wasn't poisoned.

By the time they made it to the front door, all the boys were heaving as Heiji pounded on the door. They were soaked through and the chill was setting into their bones, but the only thing they could think about was getting their mischievous friend some help.

As Hattori continued to pound on the door, it suddenly ripped open. It was needless to say that Saguru was very surprised to see a young girl with short strawberry blonde hair glaring daggers at the tanned detective. She looked like she was about to snap at him and lecture him about breaking doors, but the second her blue eyes landed on the boy in Saguru's arms, her mouth audibly clicked shut. Silently, she moved to the side and gestured for the boys to enter. As they enter the house, the girl automatically turned to Conan, who had just been set down by Hattori.

"So, Conan, what did Kuroba-kun do this time?"

A jolt went straight down both Hakuba and Hattori's backs as an unpleasant feeling settled in their stomachs. Did this mean that this wasn't the first time Kaito had come here with such an injury?

Ignoring his two friends, Conan tried to give Haibara a review of what happened. "Well, you see... It's kind of...," at the scientist's glare, the boy quickly pulled his face into a serious expression that was older than it should have been. It was a bit of a shock for Saguru to see Conan acting so seriously. "Kaito kind of had a run in with-"

For the next five minutes, Conan gave the girl the general run down about what happened. She kept a controlled expression as she took the information in stride. When he told her how the man had somehow stabbed the boy without them noticing, Saguru and Heiji almost jumped in surprise when she snapped the pencil (did she have it the whole time) in her hand in half. Somehow, though, she kept a straight face.

"It was a bit of a surprise when we noticed him bleeding," Conan said. He had a slightly haunted look on his face, as if he were reliving the scene in his head over and over (which he probably was). "We rushed over here as quickly as we could, but we kind of got a little wet along the way."

Finally, Hattori snapped, "Are we jus' goin' ta forget tha' the creep tried ta rape Kuroba?!" The Osakan's face was twisted into a scowl as he observed the two non-children in front of him. His blood was boiling as he recalled Kaito's face, scrunched up in pain even after he had passed out. It was an image that was going to haunt him for a while, just like when he had that sudden vision of Kudou getting hurt.

Conan fell silent as the Haibara's face suddenly turned grim. Much like Conan, she had figured out about Kaito's little ability soon after she met him. This was the first time that Kaito had been attacked on such a scale though. Being touched was one thing and the teen had only been stalked a few times (a problem that both she and Conan solved before anything could happen), but this was the first time that she had ever heard that someone had tried to do something this extreme. It was a little frightening to think that the situation was only getting worse.

Trying to keep her composure, the chemist turned to Hakuba. He looked lost and out of place as he watched them interact. She silently took that as confirmation that he didn't know anything.

"Follow me, Hakuba-san."

The boy jumped when he was addressed, but nodded anyway. Even though he had no idea what was going on, Edogawa and this girl seemed to know what they were doing. Just how mature were these kids?

Haibara turned around and walked resolutely towards the hallway that led to the only guest room in the house. It probably should be labeled as Kaito's room, though, with how often he came to visit. He also had a room in the manor that had been labeled as his own. The brunette had planted himself deep into their lives to the point as to where it would be weird if he didn't show up for his random monthly visits. It was hard to imagine a time when Kaito would no longer show up at the front door with a grin and a rose, saying some cheesy line, and just entering the house like he owned the place.

And, honestly, Haibara refused to let such a future exist.

Leading Hakuba down the hall, they finally reached the guest room. She motioned towards the bed, a silent order clear in her actions. A little flustered by her serious demeanor, Hakuba quickly, although very carefully, placed Kaito on the bed. Turning back to Haibara, Saguru could only observe as she eyed the teen with something akin to sadness in her gaze.

"Are there any other complications I should be informed of?"

She said those words without removing her eyes from Kaito's form. His hair was plastered to his face by the rain and he was still wet from head to toe. His cheeks were flushed red as his breathing rasped itself from his throat. It was a truly sad sight to behold when one knew just how energetic the magician usually was. 'Kaito' and 'weak' just didn't belong in the same sentence.

Pulling himself together Hakuba tried to not look like he was freaking out. "Well, back in the alley, we noticed that he had a fever. However, on the way here, it seemed to spike suddenly. Is that anything to be concerned about?" He almost slapped himself after he finished. Why was he asking a little girl all of this like she was an adult?! It was kind of hard not to when she was acting more level headed than all of them were. Hell, Conan was acting more calm than he was!

Outside of the room, said child arrived, followed by Hattori. They observed and listened to the conversation, partially so that they could see what they could do to help. They watched as Haibara approached the bed, ignoring Hakuba's question, as she put her small hand to the brunette's forehead. She almost pulled her hand away immediately at the heat she felt radiating from it.

"His fever is very high. At this rate, it will become dangerous if we don't get it down in the next hour."

Her words seemed to strike a chord in the three boys. Conan felt himself stiffen as Heiji swore under his breath. Saguru felt like he had been dunked in ice and then thrown outside during winter. How had today gotten so out of control? One moment, they had been laughing together in the classroom, but now, Kaito was probably fighting for his life.

Blocking out the three boys, Haibara quickly got to work. She unbuttoned Kaito's shirt and pulled it off of his trembling form. She found herself holding back a wince when she finally saw the damage done to the magician's side. The cut wasn't very wide and definitely wasn't the worse she had seen, but it was deep as blood sluggishly oozed out of it. If the blood was flowing slowly, then Kaito's luck must have pulled through and protected his inner organs from getting punctured. Or he was close to catching hypothermia. Haibara just couldn't understand how someone could be so lucky, yet also unlucky, at the same time.

Behind her, both Saguru and Heiji's eyes were wide with horror. When the chemist had removed the shirt, she had exposed Kaito's torso to their eyes. As well as all the scars that covered it. Hakuba had never considered that Kaito could even get scars with his ridiculous luck during his heists. Seeing all of them only made him realize just how dangerous the thief's job really was. While Heiji had been prepared to see a scar or two, he hadn't expected to see so many. They covered Kaito's chest like someone had used him for target practice for several different types of weapons.

However, they both zoomed in on Kaito's right shoulder at the same time when they remembered the fiasco from last week. It wasn't a very large wound and it looked like it had long since healed from whatever had happened to it, but it was the shape of it that really caught their eye. It was circular and looked like it had probably hurt like who knew what when it was first received. Especially since, as a magician and a thief, Kaito moved around a lot. Having a wound like that must have been torture.

Both detectives tensed when they finally realized something important. There was no way that someone could have stabbed Kaito, since it was almost impossible to catch him and that the wound was the wrong shape. If the thief saw someone coming, there was no way to catch him off guard or injure him. That only meant that the wound had to come from the weapon of someone who attacked from a far distance. Somewhere that was out of the boy's sight.

Like a sniper.

Hakuba feels his body go numb as he remembers all the rumors about hearing gunshots at a heist. It wasn't exactly that hard to forget when the person only fired when KID was on the roof and in clear sight. Since Hakuba would usually be right on his tail, when he wasn't caught in a trap, he would also hear the occasional shot taken on the thief. To say that it never bothered him would be a lie. Those nights usually left him sleepless until he saw Kaito at school the following week.

But now, there was solid proof in front of him that not all of the bullets missed.  
The blonde's mind went blank as Haibara moved to grab some disinfectant and stitches from the dresser next to the bed. When Kaito kept showing up with injuries, she had practically turned the entire dresser into a giant first aid kit. It came in handy during moments like these. After finding her required items, she capped the disinfectant onto a rag and pressed it firmly to the teen's side. The second Haibara put pressure to it, Kaito's face scrunched up in his uneasy sleep, a quiet whimper escaping his lips. In response, Haibara made a gentle cooing sound and almost found herself smiling when the boy quieted almost immediately at her voice.

Conan and Heiji were speechless. Haibara had never shown any signs of being gentle before except for towards the Detective Boys. It was a little shocking to see her acting so nice towards Kaito, even if Kaito was freakishly likable. The last time Conan got hurt, she had slapped him rather hard on the back of his head, which ironically, is were he had gotten hurt at. Although, that had been during a soccer game at school and not a stab wound. It was like she had become a different person.

Kaito seemed to have that effect on people. He changed them for the better, just like he had done for Hattori, Hakuba, and himself. Just like he was doing for Haibara now.  
As if sensing his thoughts, the girl suddenly whirled on the three teens, a light blush on her cheeks. "Stop just standing there and sit down already! If your legs go numb, then how are you going to take a bath?!" Conan held back a smirk at her flustered state. She hated when she was caught doing anything relatively different from her usual nonchalant attitude.

When all three boys went to sit down, she grabbed Conan by the sleeve. When he turned back to her, she had once again schooled her expression into one of indifference. "Not you. You're going to take a bath first." The she turned to Hattori next, "There's another bathroom by Hakase's room. Can you find it on your own, Hattori-san?" With a nod, Heiji stood from his chair and followed Conan out of the room.

Once both boys had left, Haibara turned her gaze towards Hakuba. The boy's face was set in a frown as if he was thinking about something really hard. His eyes were distant, watching something else from the past. Haibara sighed, able to get where the blonde was coming from. It wasn't every day that you found out your friend had been put in harms way so many times.

"Hakuba-san," she called gently. The teen seemed to jolt as he turned towards her, having been startled by her voice. His maroon eyes were haunted, probably still close to seeing whatever it was that bothered him so much. Haibara could feel the empathy for him pool in her gut. She knew what it was like, finding out that someone precious to you was getting hurt. She still felt some guilt for what happened to her sister, although Conan, and even Kaito, had helped her get rid of most of it.

"It wasn't your fault." The boy's expression tightened, probably in anger (whether it was towards her or himself was unknown), but since Haibara looked like a little girl, he couldn't bring himself to yell at her. She understood how he felt since she had reacted to Kudou the same way when she had met him. But now wasn't the time for such secrets.

"I know that you feel guilty. Guilty for not being able to help sooner. For not finding out faster." Now Hakuba was regarding her with a weary expression. She must have hit the nail on the head. "It's okay, you know. I feel guilty for someone, too. Just be glad that your someone is alive." The teen looked like someone had emptied the contents of a taser into him. His eyes were wide as his mouth hung open, completely stunned.

With a reassuring smile, Haibara turned back to her work. She wasn't about to have another life on her hands. Not if she could help it.

It took less than thirty minutes, but soon, Haibara was finished with her job. Pulling back with a triumphant smile, she observed her work. The wound had been cleaned and stitched shut. Reaching into the middle drawer, she pulled out a towel and started on Kaito's hair. The last thing she needed was for his fever to get worse.

She was sure not to move too roughly before she finally stepped back, his face and hair finally dry again. Setting the towel on top of the dresser, she pulled an ice pack out of the bottom. Agasa-hakase had modified it to to work much like a freezer since Kaito turned up with bruises more than open injuries. One time, he had scared her half to death when he had come in with a concussion. He ended up spending a week here when that happened. He came back the following week to thank her and complain about how Aoko had tried to murder him, but he had a fond look in his eyes as he spoke of his childhood friend. He obviously felt for her what Kudou felt for Mouri-chan.

After setting the ice pack on Kaito's forehead, Haibara turned back to Hakuba, who had still been looking at her. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time all over again. "Keep an eye on Kuroba-kun for me while I go get some painkillers." The boy gave a firm nod as he moved his chair next to the bed. He wasn't going to ask why a six or seven year old girl had just performed surgery on a teenage boy. He was probably going to get answers eventually, so he wasn't dumb enough to press at the moment.

When Haibara was half way out the doorway, she turned towards Hakuba again. She took in the determined look on his face as he watched over Kaito. He looked like he was torn between breaking into a rant that would fall on deaf ears and just tearing his own hair out from confusion. Turning to leave the room, she was met with the sight of Conan and Heiji fully dressed in pajamas and towels around their necks to protect their clothes from their still damp hair.

"Make sure you dry your hair properly." she said as she passed them. "The last thing I need is to deal with a couple of sick idiots. And tell Hakuba-san to take a bath, too. He'll be no good to Kuroba-kun if he's too sick to take care of him." With those final words, she disappeared to go find the painkillers.

With bemused looks, the boys turned to each other before walking into the room. When they got inside, one look at Hakuba was all it took to understand what Haibara had meant. If Hakuba continued to hover over Kaito like that, he'd forget to take care of himself and end up with a cold.

With a little coaxing, they finally convinced Saguru to take a bath down the hall while they watched Kaito for him. By the time he returned, Haibara had come back and given the painkillers to Kaito, who had only woken up long enough to take them before passing back out. It wasn't that big of a surprise, Conan was surprised he had woken up at all with how high his fever was.

When Hakuba entered the room, Haibara finally gave them all the news. "It seems that Kuroba-kun is going to make a full recovery. His fever has actually fallen a little and will probably break soon." She watches as all three boys slumped into their chairs with relief. She couldn't stop the thought about how creepy it was from entering her mind. The boys didn't realize just how similar they were.

"It would also seem that the blade was not poisoned." she continued after a moment. The boys looked back up at the information. "I actually have good reason to believe that the fever was caused by an illness, most likely a cold. When he was stabbed, he probably received an infection since you guys were in an alley, which would explain the fever spike. Outside is usually not the best place to receive an open wound. But the antibiotics are doing their job." Kudou let out a shaky sigh as he remembered Kaito's flushed face and wondered just how much of it had actually been from embarrassment.

Haibara almost smiled. As he had gotten to know Kuroba over the past two and a half months, it came as no surprise that he had gotten attached. She had heard about how their parents had planned to introduce them before the 'stage accident'. But apparently, not even the Organization could keep them from meeting.

Hakuba looked like he was trying to hold back tears as his eyes turned misty. He was the first one to notice Kaito's fever spike and had probably been the most worried about the probability of poison.

Hattori was grinning like a fool, his worries blown out of the water. If Haibara said that Kaito was okay, then everything was fine. She was better than any doctor he had ever seen, despite her protests about being a chemist. She did a better job than most doctors that he knew of and she did it with half the tools and resources.

Haibara was, in a word, amazing.

Haibara suggested that the boys stay the night since it was still storming outside. The boys agreed as they settled into their chairs once more. It was going to be a long night, but they were determined to stay awake until Kaito's fever broke. However, it was a bit of a shock when Haibara finally told them that it did indeed break less than an ten minutes later.

Not long after, Haibara retired to her room and told the boys to get some sleep. She knew that it was pointless to try and get them to actually lay down on the futons. Silently, she rolled over on her bed and stared at her wall, the image of Kaito's smiling face fresh in her mind.

She would die before she let anything happen to either Shinichi or Kaito. She would never let anyone hurt her brothers. Especially the Organization.

Unknown to her, back in the room, the detectives were having similar thoughts.

"Why?" Hakuba whispered as he watched his friend's unconscious body. "Why didn't he say anything?"

Heiji and Conan gave each other a look before Conan finally approached the blonde. "Hakuba-san." When the teen finally looked at him, he continued, "Maybe Kaito just didn't want you to worry bout it." The boy fully turned to him, "What do you mean, Edogawa-kun?" "Maybe Kaito was afraid that if he told you everything, it would ruin your friendship. He doesn't want to lose you since you're his best friend."

For a moment, Hakuba looked stunned. Kaito actually considered him as his best friend? That was definitely news to him. Hakuba had thought that Conan had been Kaito's best friend since the boy tended to disappear so often to go see him. The fact that Kaito saw him in that sentiment made an uncontrollable smile come to his face.  
He chuckled as he said, "I guess that I'll just have to teach Kuroba that I'm not so easy to get rid of."

Conan smiled as Heiji tried really hard not to laugh.

* * *

Heiji sighs as he remembers the emotional roller coaster the day had put them through. The day had started so innocently and had ended with the relief that their friend wasn't going to die. However, he thought as he looked at Saguru, the relief hadn't lasted long for some.

After they had received the news about Kaito being sick even before the stabbing, Hakuba had been furious. He had ranted under his breath about 'stupid thieves' and 'how could he be so stupid'. He was very upset that, despite being sick, Kaito had come to school anyway. He even revealed that the reason that Aoko hadn't been at school that day was because she had been sick for a few days and that Kaito had probably gotten his cold from her when he visited her.

Looking over at the digital clock on top of the dresser, the time was revealed to be two thirty in the morning in big red numbers. Everything felt like it happened so long ago, but it hadn't even been a whole day yet. It was a fascinating and disturbing thought.

He was dragged out of his thoughts when he felt a sudden weight on his arm. Looking down, he was met with the sight of Kudou cuddled up to his arm. His childish face was lax with sleep with his mouth parted just a little bit. He looked just like a normal child instead of a seventeen year old detective. It was quite the endearing sight.

With a yawn, Heiji looked at his friends (although he would deny being friends with Hakuba if anyone ever asked). With everyone asleep, it seemed that everything was finally over. His protective samurai instincts told him that all of his charges were safe. No one would be lost tonight. Heiji allowed a sleepy smile to take over his features.

"Goo'night guys," he whispered.

And with those final words, his mind slipped into dreams.

However, not long after he fell asleep, another two figures enter the room. One was Haibara, who was unable to sleep without checking on Kaito one last time. The other behind her was the plump form of Agasa, Shinichi's neighbor and family friend. For a moment, the two stood in silence as the only sound to be heard was the rhythmic breathing from the sleeping teens. However, the silence was broken when Haibara finally spoke, a small smile on her face.

"Just how much longer are you going to pretend to sleep, Kuroba?"

Her smile widens when Kaito sits up in the bed, his eyes clear and sharp, as he smiles right back at her. "Enjoy your nap?" she asks. Kaito's smile morphs into a smirk as he replies, "Of course I did. A magician needs his beauty sleep, you know." Careful to not wake any of the boys, Haibara walks up to Kaito's bed and climbs up next to him. She raises a fist to gently bonk him on the head, ignoring his playful wince, before ruffling his hair.

"How about the next time you get sick, you stay at home and rest instead of going to school just for chocolate." Kaito gave soft laugh. "That wasn't the only reason I went, you know." "Oh, I know," Haibara said haughtily. "I noticed the chocolates that the detective nerds had." At this point, a smirk came to the girl's face as she asked, "So, how did it go?" She almost lost it when Kaito's face morphed into a pout and his cheeks flushed red.

"You're a liar, Ai-neechan," he whined quietly. "You told me that honmei were friendship chocolates. Do you know how embarrassed I was when Hakuba was the one who had to tell me?!" He was careful to keep his voice low as to not wake up his companions. "I made a fool of myself twice in front of my class because of you!"

"You don't make it very hard."

" _Oi!_ "

Agasa was trying desperately not to laugh at the surreal sight in front of him. It was almost bizarre to watch a teen whining like a child to another child who was actually older than him. It was also adorable to watch Haibara acting like a normal girl for once.

Before him, he continued to watch the scene play out. "How about a compromise? If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I'll let you eat some more of that monstrosity you call a cake tomorrow." She laughs silently as Kaito's eyes appeared to go starry as he nodded enthusiastically. He looked like a puppy who had been offered steak after being fed kibble for too long. Ruffling his hair one more time, Haibara lowered herself to the floor. "If you want that cake, you better hurry up and get to sleep."

Kaito pouts again, but obeys as he laid back down. It didn't escape Haibara or Agasa's notice that he never let go of Hakuba's hand. The two watch from the doorway for a moment before closing the door. After bidding each other good night, they went to their separate rooms.

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh my gosh, this took forever! Even though I had an entire plot line written out for this chapter, some scenes didn't make it. I had to add Agasa in the bonding scene between Haibara and Kaito since it would be weird to not see the owner of the house at least once.
> 
> I also had a scene where the boys discussed the organization while Kaito was asleep, but decided that it would be better to have Kaito involved since the conversation will mostly be about him. Not to mention that Shinichi has made it clear that he wants Kaito to be the one to tell Hakuba the truth.
> 
> Please note that Shinichi and Kaito have come to see each other as family, which is why they don't refer to each other as best friends. Shinichi's best friend is Heiji while Kaito's best friend is Saguru. So if Kaito was awake, he probably heard what Hakuba said, which would explain why he wouldn't let go of Saguru's hand.
> 
> And was anyone surprised by the way presented Haibara's relationship with Kaito and Shinichi? I like to think that since she lost her sister, she's come to see Shinichi as the brother she never had. A sort of missing familial piece, much like Agasa. Then Kaito had barged in and wormed himself into her life and, after a while, also become a younger brother figure to her.
> 
> The reason that I cut some other scenes out is so that they will make up the next chapter. The conversation will finally be had and truths will be revealed. Kaito ends up admitting to a lot of things, such as his scars, and the rest of the boys become more protective. It shouldn't be a surprise that the cake lasted a week since Haibara has been watching Kaito's calorie and sugar intake, much like she does for Agasa. Not to mention that Kaito hasn't been in Beika for that exact amount of time. Will she ask Hakuba to make sure Kaito doesn't eat himself into a sugary coma?
> 
> Let me know what you guys think and drop a review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!
> 
> \- Addict


	9. A Conversation Is Finally Had

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is the chapter where some questions will be answered and holes will be filled. How will Kaito recover from his new wound? What about his likely newfound trauma? What will Hakuba and Hattori do now that they know Kaito's little secret?
> 
> I also want to point out, Lighted Candle, that the thing about mental and physical scarring was meant to be a joke. It was a comparison between Shinichi and Kaito's lives. His mother mostly torments him with love while trying to embarrass him (like cuddling him in public) and Ran never really hit him directly except for a few exceptions, preferring to break things instead (like concrete). Kaito's mother, however, is the queen of horror while Aoko always tries to hit Kaito as hard as she can during their chases. It was even shown in a scene from Magic Kaito on YouTube where she hit him (not knowing it was him) and actually made him bleed (or was that fake blood that he used to scare her? I'm a little behind). But the idea will probably be used in either a different story or in later chapters if you can help me find a way to make it work.
> 
> By the way, I love the idea with Vermouth! That idea is very interesting. The only question should be if Kaito knows or not. Or if I should actually kill off Kaito's mom. If Kaito didn't know, then how would he find out? Does she admit to it? Or does Kaito walk in on her taking the mask off? How would he react?
> 
> By the way, Angel-Rei-chan1, I accidentally left that scene out, but after Heiji beat the guy up in the alley, he called the police before coming out of the shadows, which was why he stayed in the shadows for a while before he finally came out.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the show and make yourselves at home (although you're probably reading this at home).
> 
> \- Addict

The next morning, it was hard to tell that a storm had ever hit yesterday. But, the water puddles left behind by the rain did a great job of reminding everyone.

In the bedroom, the three detectives were still asleep. Conan was still snuggled up to Heiji's side, the cold from the chill outside still getting to him (though not as much) even with the blanket that was thrown over his shoulders. Heiji, being the wonderful heater that he was, seemed unaffected by the afternoon chill and snored away loudly. Saguru was the only one to have been moved since last night.

Instead of being in his half sitting, half laying position, the teen had been moved so that he was laying fully on the bed. The covers had been moved so that they were wrapped snugly around him. Unconsciously, he pulled the covers closer to him, trying to escape the cold air that brushed his face. Suddenly, as if knowing that something was wrong, the blonde's eyes snapped open. Shooting himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the dizziness from the sudden movement, he scanned the bedroom.

Seeing Edogawa and Hattori put him a little at ease, but one thing caught his attention more than anything else. If he was lying in the bed, then where was Kaito? Sliding out of the covers and suppressing a shiver at the temperature that greeted him ( _did this house have a heater_ ), Saguru made his way towards the door. If Kuroba really had gotten up and left the room, he was probably still in the house somewhere.

Making his way down the hall, Saguru was met with the sound of arguing. Curiosity getting the better of him, the teen made his way towards the sound. When he got to the end of the hall, Saguru found himself standing near the doorway. Coming inside the house from outside was just the boy he had been looking for. He was carrying several bags of groceries that definitely looked heavy, but he carried them almost effortlessly. Next to him, the girl from last night had a light scowl on her face as if she were challenging the smile on Kaito's own. She was obviously upset about something the teen did.

The two stopped in the doorway to take off their shoes and that was when they finally took notice of Hakuba. With a frown, Hakuba crossed his arms and cocked his eyebrow.

"And just _what_ do you think you're doing out of bed?" he inquired, a little bit of venom entering his voice.

" _See_ , even he gets it!"

Startled, Hakuba turned back to the girl. Her scowl had deepened as she glared at the back of Kaito's head. He had turned his head away from the two of them and was staring at the wall with far more concentration than was necessary. Apparently, the wall was a very interesting shade of white.

"You need to be more careful, Kuroba! You're not fully healed yet!" By this point, the girl's hands had migrated to her hips. She looked like a mother chastising her child instead of an eight year old yelling at a teenager. It was bizarre to look at, but it was also humorous enough that Hakuba could feel the anger slowly drain out of him. Watching this scene play out was like watching how Kaito and Conan treated each other.

Kuroba really had to get himself together if he had to rely on children.

With a light frown that only seemed to hold resignation in it, Kaito turned to Haibara. "I already said that I was sorry, Ai-neechan. And _you_ -," he said before turning and pointing an accusatory finger at Hakuba with a light glare,"stop giving her ammunition. You're only making it worse."

Haibara, not taking too kindly to his 'attitude', smacked him on the arm with the newspaper she was carrying. "Maybe there wouldn't _be_ any ammunition for me to use if you hadn't been trying to _sneak out_ this morning."

Hakuba made a sound of alarm as he turned to Kaito. Had the boy been trying to run away, but was caught in the act by the child? However, as if sensing where his train of thought was going, the magician turned to glare at him. "It isn't like that," he chastised. "I was trying to go get some groceries for-" he abruptly cut off before looking away with a blush, "-reasons. It just happens that Ai-neechan caught me before I was able to leave. I didn't go very far and I was planning to come straight back." With nervousness that didn't suit him, Kaito looked down at his feet, which he shuffled uneasily.

With a sigh, Haibara dropped her arms and grabbed Kaito by the sleeve of his jacket. "C'mon, you idiot. Let's put the groceries away before they spoil." Leading the boys into the kitchen (and turning on the frickin' heater), they all proceeded to put the food in the refrigerator. When the normal food had mostly been put away, Hakuba mostly handled putting the cans in the cabinet while Kaito put some tubs of ice cream (why was that not a surprise) in the freezer. After he was done, the brunette had began to make coffee.

* * *

"Why did you buy so much anyway, Kuroba?" Hakuba asked. It really did look like Kaito had completely stocked the whole kitchen. Just how much money did this boy have?

Kaito ducked his head as he answered, "It's a present for you guys." Looking back at Kaito, Saguru watched as the teen's face only seemed to turn even redder. "I wanted to say thank you for saving me yesterday. And for staying with me for so long even though it's only been a week." With a nervous laugh, he continued in a trembling voice. "Aoko always says how she can't stand to be around me. I know I'm not the best friend to have, but-" Kaito was abruptly cut off when he suddenly found his face full of cotton. Hakuba had pulled Kaito into his chest.

"Don't say that," the blonde said. His voice was firm with conviction as he stared at the wall past Kaito's head. He wasn't sure why, but the sight of Kaito's glassy eyes had been too much for him. Did Aoko's jibes really strike that deep of a cord in Kaito? To the point as to where the boy actually believed them? What other kinds of damaged did that girl do without even knowing? Maybe he should have a talk with her when they went back.

Haibara watched from her perch on the counter with a grim expression on her face. Looking at the hallway, she watched as Conan and Heiji came out of the guest room, clothes still rumpled with sleep. When they reached the entrance to the kitchen, they seemed to finally notice the two boys standing in the middle of the room. When they gave her a curious glance, she only put her finger to her lips, a silent order to stay quiet.

Completely unaware of their audience, Saguru kept going. "You're a great friend, Kuroba. I mean, sure you sleep in class, you cause a commotion everyday, and you're confident almost to the point of arrogance. But you're also smart, ridiculously loyal-" this earned him a wet laugh from the boy in his arms, "and you're nothing like any other kid in our class. You're completely unique and you're own person. But you know what?" Hakuba pulled back so that he could look the teen in the eye. "I wouldn't have you any other way."

The dam in Kaito's eyes finally burst. With a sob, the brunette threw himself back into his friend's arms. He hid his face in Saguru's shoulder, positive that he was making a weird face that he didn't want the blonde seeing. Behind them, the three teens smiled. While Conan and Heiji were slightly concerned as to what had upset Kaito so much, they knew that Saguru had it covered.

"I was serious about what I said last night." He almost laughed when he felt Kaito jump in his arms. Pulling back, Hakuba was met with the sight of the thief's startled expression. He looked like a child who was caught stealing cookies. "Don't think that I didn't notice that you woke up while we were here. I knew you were awake when you're breathing changed." In a fit of embarrassment, Kaito brought his hands up and buried his face in them, trying to hide his now radioactive face.

His reaction only served to make the other occupants of the room laugh. He really was just too cute and innocent for someone who was supposed to be the most wanted thief in the world. How did that even work?

Finally, after everyone had calmed down, Conan made his way up to the boy. He tugged on the teen's jacket sleeve until he finally looked up. Without saying a word, he conveyed his message pretty well when he nodded his head towards the living room. Kaito turned a nervous glance towards Haibara only to be met with a similar response. With a sigh, he told the others to wait in the living room as he finished making coffee.

By the time he was finished, Kaito entered the living room to find everyone already seated. Conan, Hakuba, and Hattori were all sitting on the couch while Haibara was sitting in the chair at on one foot of coffee table. He handed Conan his coffee before standing nervously at the head of the table. Swallowing thickly, he inquired, "Where do I even start?" Seeming to catch on to what was going on, Hakuba gave him a look of understanding. "Just start from the beginning." With a nod, Kaito took a deep breath and began his tale.

"It all started with the discovery of my dad's secret room."

He found himself telling them everything. He told them how his father had been murdered. He told them about how he only found out eight years later. He ranted about his first encounter with Snake and how he had many more after that. He told them his insecurities, how he thought he wasn't good enough sometimes and how he thought he would never find Pandora. How he might never avenge his father and see his murders behind bars. He told them everything.

By the time he was through, he felt light headed from the lack of oxygen. But he also felt so light, like a weight he didn't even know he was carrying had been lifted. He probably would have fallen over if Hakuba hadn't jumped up and caught him.

From their seats, everyone watched with differing reactions. Haibara was surprised to find out about his father, but she also knew that it was impossible for Kaito to have been the first KID. The aging just didn't match up. Conan just looked saddened. Kaito had told him about his father months ago, but he hadn't known that the boy had so many doubts. He always carried his head high even out of costume. It only made him wonder just how much of the boy's personality was a lie.

Hakuba and Hattori were actually feeling the same way for once. Hattori's expression was fixed into a dark scowl as his mind went over the information again. He knew that the organization had messed up _Kudou's_ life pretty badly, but they had really messed up _Kaito's_ head. They took his father away from him at a tender age and who even knew how his mother took it. With how close he and his father seemed, it must have destroyed Kaito to lose him. He grit his teeth and clenched his fist so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Noticing his friend's reaction, Conan put his hand on the Osakan's shoulder. He understood how it felt to find out that someone very close to you was thrown into a life or death situation at least once or twice a month. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew how important this was to Kaito, he would have forbidden Kaito from having any more heists and then tied him down if he refused.

Hakuba held Kaito firmly as he tried to steer the boy to the nearest chair. His eyes were stormy, teeming with hatred towards his newfound enemy. Now he knew why the thief was always looking over his shoulder, seemingly paranoid. But now, he knew the reason behind that paranoia. He'd be jumpy too if there was a secret international criminal organization that was trying to kill him every chance they got. He could only pray to every deity out there that they never figured out who Kaito was.

He felt himself shudder at the thought.

Once he was rested into the chair, Kaito seemed to come to himself again. With a sheepish expression, he gave Saguru a shaky smile. He was completely drained and the smile felt unnatural on his face and it definitely looked forced. He felt the grip on his shoulders tighten reassuringly before they pulled away completely. Allowing himself to go slack in the chair, he turned his suddenly exhausted gaze to his remaining friends. "Sorry," was all he could bring himself to mutter.

Moving to get off the couch, Conan made his way over to his cousin. Climbing onto the chair, the pseudo child positioned himself in Kaito's lap so that his back was facing him. Taking the hint, Kaito finally smiled as he wrapped Shinichi in his arms and pulled him closer. He could just feel the remaining tension drain from his body at the reassuring pressure. Just the mere sight of the two caused Hakuba's anger to be replaced with sorrow. Getting angry would do nothing to make the situation any better. He needed to be calm if he wanted to help Kaito.

Hattori, however, continued to seethe silently before finally snapping. "Are ya gonna tell us a lil' more 'bout just where the hell ya been gettin' all those scars?"

From his place on Kaito's lap, Conan felt how the teen tensed. He mentally added vivisecting to the long list of things that he was going to do to the tanned boy in the near future. Or was that already on the list?

"It's not as serious as it looks," he started hesitantly. "I get shot at all the time so I'm actually pretty used to it." When he saw how quickly both Hattori and Hakuba's faces darkened, he was quick to backtrack. "What I mean is that I knew what I was getting myself into the day I decided to take up this job! I knew that someone had killed Oyaji and that if they thought I was him, that they would inevitably turn their fire on me. Besides, not all of them are even from being shot at." Sadly, this seemed to have the opposite reaction he was hoping for.

Hattori looked like he was going to start throwing things any second as he clenched his fists again. Kaito could have sworn that he had seen blood. However, while his face remained the same, Kaito could feel how Hakuba's grip on his shoulder seemed to tighten (when had he put his hand there again). He had obviously dug himself a hole that he would not be able to climb out of. Hopefully, they could save this conversation for another time.

"Kuroba."

Apparently, that hope was void.

Looking up at Saguru, Kaito suddenly felt like he had been punched in the gut. Instead of looking angry like Kaito was suspecting, Saguru's face was pulled into a light frown. His maroon eyes seemed to be pleading as they bore into indigo. It was such a look of sadness that Kaito felt like he had been dumped in a tank full of f-f-f-finny things. His breath seemed to be taken from his lungs as the overwhelming guilt told him that he was the one who put that look on his friend's face.

"Just how much danger have you been putting yourself in?" With an expression so earnest, Kaito found himself unable to lie. It looked like Shinichi wasn't the only one with that power after all. Damn.

In a last ditch attempt to keep quiet, he looked at the floor. He didn't know why he felt like it would be a bad idea to tell them the truth. It's not like he went looking for it (not counting heists). Most of the danger outside of heists were actually pretty random, although usually still Kid-related. But he still didn't understand why he felt like it would be a bad idea.

A warm pressure on his cheek had him turning straight into bright azure eyes. Dammit! Now Shinichi was teaming up with Saguru! With these two looking at him like that, there was no way he could even tell a little white lie. At this rate all he could do was let out a sigh of defeat.

"W-Well... I...," he began. He mentally cursed the stuttering in his voice. Why was he so nervous?! "I've had a few encounters outside of heists." This earned him a startled noise out of Hakuba and a small, encouraging smile from Shinichi. There was no turning back now. "I was maybe - kind of - possibly - attacked on my way home once." This time, the noise came from Hattori. Shooting up from his chair, the Osakan marched over to Kaito's seat and loomed threateningly over him. "An' excac'ly when were ya gonna tell us 'bout this?!" The poor guy looked like he was about to blow a fuse as a vein seemed to pulse on his forehead. It was a truly frightening sight.

"I already told you guys. It's really not that serious." When Hattori' still looked like he was about to commit murder, Kaito gave another sigh. "Guys, really, it's not that big of a deal. At least it wasn't f-" he tried to say before suddenly cut himself off. He had almost said the forbidden word. In return for his hesitance, the other teens gave him curious looks with the exception of Shinichi and Ai, who only gave him sympathetic looks.

They both knew about Kaito's problem with fish. Shinichi found out when he happened to come over with a shirt that had the picture of silly cartoon fish on it (sadly, it had been a joke from Ran, who thought that Conan needed to dress a little more like a child). Needless to say that Kaito had pretty much given himself away when he screamed, jumped up from the dining room table and had fled to his room where he had shut and locked the door. He had spent an hour huddled in a corner as he rocked back and forth while Shinichi had pounded on the door, demanding to know what was wrong. In the end, he was forced to admit his phobia to the detective when he had decided to play dirty and had given him the sad child eyes. (Shinichi was hanging out with the Shounen Tantei too much.)

Ironically, he had reacted the complete opposite to Aoko and hadn't laughed. Instead, he had hastily taken off his shirt and changed into a plain one that he had left during his last visit.

Ai had found out in a similar fashion when Agasa had invited the boys over for dinner. When they had taken a seat at the table, Agasa had brought a tray of fresh sushi from the kitchen and Shinichi had blanched. However, before he could warn Kaito to cover his eyes or do it himself, Agasa had set the tray on the table.

_Right in front of Kaito._

Shinichi watched as the magicians smile suddenly disappeared as he stared, wide eyed, at the monstrosities in front of him. His eyes had suddenly gone distant and hazy as he seemed to drift to someplace else. Ai and Agasa had tried to get the boy's attention when they noticed his apparent lack of response to a question. Kaito didn't respond for a good two minutes before suddenly jumping up from his seat, voice lodged in his throat, and had fled the house in favor of getting as far away from those horrid little monsters as he could.

Sadly, Tokyo was filled with fish references. No matter where Kaito ran to, he couldn't escape them. They were _everywhere_ , on signs, in restaurant windows, and practically everywhere else. By the time he finally found a place to hide, he was crouched in an alley by several cardboard boxes while he tried to recover his breath. Why did he even continue to live in Japan when literally everywhere he went, those demons were there too?

He didn't know how long he spent in that alley, panting and sweating. By the time anyone had even found him, he had finally calmed down and it had began to rain. He only stared at the ground below him as the droplets slowly caused the concrete to turn darker. _Darn_ , he had thought idly, _I forgot my umbrella at Shinichi's_. It had began to pick up when, suddenly, he couldn't feel the rain any longer. He could see the rain falling around him, but he could no longer feel any of it landing on him.

Looking up, Kaito could see the red and white sneakers of a child. The same shoes that used to kick high speed soccer balls at him. When he finally raised his head, he was met with Shinichi himself standing in front of him. He had a look of concern on his face as he held his umbrella over the teen's head, ignoring that he was getting wet instead. Feeling guilty (not to mention stupid) and not wanting Shinichi to catch a cold, Kaito had grabbed the umbrella and stood up so that he was partially leaning over him. The detective had given him a smile before turning to the mouth of the alley. When he looked in that direction as well, he was surprised to see Haibara standing there, her eyes narrow and her mouth drawn into a thin line. It was the closest he had ever seen her come to looking guilty or sorry. It was even more surprising when she had apologized with real remorse coloring her voice.

After a short explanation, Kaito found out that it had been Haibara herself who had suggested sushi for dinner. She had tried to apologize again, but Kaito had cut her off by thrusting a white rose in her face. At her startled look, he had laughed and said that it was alright, that she couldn't have known, and tucked the rose behind her ear. She had looked stunned for a moment before she had smirked back (secretly relieved that she had been forgiven, even though she had only known Kaito for a week) and said that Agasa had ordered pizza instead. It didn't take them too long to make it back to the house. He and Haibara had continued to grow closer after that day.

But even though those two times ended on a positive note, that didn't mean that he was quite ready for a confrontation by Hakuba and Hattori. Sure, Hakuba had said that he wouldn't leave Kaito so easily, but that was because of the Kid thing. How would he react to finding out that Kaito was afraid of fish of all things?

He hadn't known Hattori long enough to know if the boy would tease him about it. He teased Shinichi about being a child, after all, even though he had finally come to terms with it. But before, it had been a pretty sore spot to mess with. Shinichi had told him about how Hattori had tried to use this little information to exploit him when Shinichi wouldn't tell him something.

So what would he do if Hattori found out that he was afraid of fish.

"He has ichthyophobia."

_Dammit, Ai-neechan!_

Saguru looked over at Haibara with wide eyes. He had heard rumors about it around school, about the magician being scared of fish and how one of them had seen Aoko use fish against him before. But since he never saw any proof, Hakuba had pushed the rumor aside. But hearing it from a direct friend of Kaito, it was a bit of a shock. If Aoko knew about Kaito's phobia, why had she used it against him?! No wonder Kaito thought that being shot at wasn't important! In his eyes, according to his childhood friend, his biggest fear in the entire world was stupid, childlike, and ridiculous. It was a no brainer as to why he also thought getting shot at was something small.

Saguru was definitely having a talk with Aoko when he got back to Ekoda.

Heiji had looked surprised for a moment before he turned and locked eyes with Kaito. "Yer really scared o' fish?" His answer came in the form of Kaito flinching backwards and accidentally hitting his head on the hard part of the chair. While Kaito whimpered, clutching his head, Conan turned around to fuss over him while Hakuba took a newspaper, rolled it up, and hit Hattori over the head with it. Before he could turn around and threaten the blonde bastard, both he and Saguru froze when they felt a threatening aura behind them.

When they turned around, Haibara was glaring icicles into their skulls. With a voice that was deadly calm, but clearly dripping with acid, the scientist said, "If either of you try to use this against Kuroba-kun, I will see to it that no one will ever find your bodies." Her words caused twin shivers to go up the bickering teens' spines. She looked and sounded completely serious, the epitome of an angry fire god.

Heiji quickly decided to change the subject before he ended up buried somewhere in an unmarked grave.

"So...," he started hesitantly. When everyone looked at him, he asked, "What do we do now?" That question seemed to strike a chord in everyone. Nobody really knew what to do when it came to an organization that never left a trace of evidence. How could they stop the bad guys when they had no idea where they were or who they would attack next? It was the very same problem that's been bothering Conan for two years.

"Well," Hakuba began, "the first thing we need to do is gather what we know about them." Turning to Kaito, he asked, "Do you know anyone else who has been affected by this group, Kuroba?" His question appeared to startle Kaito, who quickly turned his eyes towards the ground again. "Well...," he said hesitantly. "I kind of do," he began and quickly retracted when he saw the looks on both teen's faces, "but I don't know if they would want me to say anything. Their both kind of in hiding."

Hattori was giving him the signal to shut up while Hakuba only adopted a thoughtful look, like he was thinking of a way to somehow talk to and convince Kaito's 'acquaintances' that they weren't with the BO.

Finally growing tired of the charades, Haibara piped up, " _Oh_ , for crying out loud! He's talking about me and Kudou-kun!" Her exclamation caused Hakuba to jump and Hattori to dive towards the floor like a video game character from that first person shooter that Kaito had seen in a GameStop store once. The graphics had been gory and there had been zombies everywhere. Needless to say that Kaito didn't go anywhere near that store until they changed the video to a different game.

Not that the game had _scared_ him or anything.

But looking at Hattori now, groaning on the floor and muttering about bad ideas, he had to restrain himself from laughing, all the tension gone from his body. He could practically feel Shinichi do the same in his arms.

Trying to look serious while your best friend was being an idiot was pretty hard, but Shinichi somehow managed as Hakuba looked back and forth between him and Haibara, disbelief clearly written on his face. "B-But," he stuttered, "you're only a little girl! Why would this organization be targeting children?!" He looked frantic as he thought about the chances of either child getting kidnapped and did not like the odds that his panicked brain came up with.

Seeing where his thoughts were heading, Shinichi finally decided to cut in. "Don't worry about us, Hakuba-kun. We'll be fine." When Saguru gave him a befuddled look, he elaborated, "We're old enough to know what we're getting ourselves into." When Hakuba opened his mouth to argue that they were eight and didn't know how serious this was, Haibara cut in again, sounding both amused and smug. "I'm twenty years old, young man, so don't you dare say what I think you're going to say." This time Hakuba looked like he was having a miniature heart attack. "Oh," Shinichi said, almost as an afterthought, "and I'm also eighteen. I have more than enough experience to defend myself."

Wait... So Conan was older than he looked? And Haibara had said that she and Kudou-kun were the friends that Kaito was talking about. Did that mean that... Conan was... Finally, Hakuba's brain crashed and he fainted.

"Well," Kaito said as he looked at his unconscious friend, "I think we broke him."

The two pseudo children only laughed. It looked like Kaito was right. It sure was fun to mess with Hakuba.

* * *

 

_To Be Continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wow. That got way off track from what I was originally planning for the chapter to go. I ended up throwing some cute scenes in there to help dispel the seriousness, but I feel like I still failed the chapter as a whole. And I ended up throwing the mental scarring from Aoko in there anyway. It just seemed to click. And the reason the two didn't confront Conan about Kaito's little ability in this chapter was because they were planning to, but then they were hit with the bombshell about Kaito's 'night job'. After that, I kind of forgot to mention it. I may add it in the next chapter where there's a flashback where they explain Kaito's problem in better detail.  
> I threw in two flashbacks about how Conan and Haibara found out about Kaito's phobia. Sadly, since I haven't actually scene Magic Kaito yet, I haven't seen any scenes where Aoko uses Kaito's fear of fish in front of anyone, at least not on purpose. There was that one scene from the river where she held a giant fish in Kaito's face, but I haven't seen her do it in front of any students or in front of Hakuba. That's why, for the sake of the fic, let's say that a student happened to walk by and saw Aoko do that. That would explain the rumors and give Hakuba a reason to be a little more observant when it came to Kaito from now on.
> 
> I didn't mean to make Aoko a complete jerk in this fic, but you guys actually pointed out that it would be a good idea for the way she treats Kaito's phobia as the reason as for why he doesn't except help or see his own problems as so serious. I plan on using the idea of Kaito not going out much because of his phobia either in another story, or find a way to make it fit in this one. Since Kaito likes to visit Shinichi all the time, he would have to find a way to help him ignore it until he got there, like conversing with elderly ladies on the bus until he reached his destination. Since I ended up putting the bus stop close to the agency, it would make sense that Shinichi himself is a good distraction as they walk to the manor.
> 
> Please note that this also means that he was freakishly grateful for what Hakuba said last night since he actually braved going outside to buy the groceries. I planned to have a whole scene where Kaito had been making a wonderful breakfast for all the boys, but maybe I'll save that for some other time.
> 
> In all honesty, I had planned to have the reveal only be about Shinichi, but I ended up having Haibara admit that she was an adult too. I don't know if Heiji knows Haibara's real age or name, but in this story he does. When she was first introduced, I think that Haibara had been eighteen, two years older than Shinichi. Although I'm not sure. Since the story takes place two years in the future, she would be twenty and Shinichi would be eighteen (since in my head, he's sixteen/seventeen-ish at the start of the story). If he was seventeen, then consider this another inconsistency with me having to rewatch the show and not being fully brushed up on details.
> 
> It also doesn't help that I'm also trying to watch season four of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, which I hadn't even known existed until recently, and catching up on the four newest episodes of Pokémon XY&Z. Hopefully I can finish them before the new episode comes out this Saturday. Watching three shows at the same time is hard without cable or internet. Especially when I need Internet to watch two of them.
> 
> If I plan on making a sequel to this story, I plan on having a graduation scene. Whether Shinichi gets his body back in time for it, is up to you guys. Do you guys want a sequel? Drop me a review and let me know!
> 
> Up next, the epilogue and more on our villain!
> 
> \- Addict


	10. Villains and Plots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The Epilogue has finally been written! The final chapter of Friendship Status has been finished! With this final chapter, we will learn more about the villain. Why was he at the restaurant that day? Why was he interested in the Gosho Boys? What does he plan to do with them? Why was he so interested in Kaito?
> 
> These questions will likely be answered, although not all of them. Leave a little something for the sequel, right? That's right, you heard me! I'm planning on making a sequel to Friendship Status because I felt that putting too many chapters in it would make it boring. Although I am open to title ideas and how the story will play out. Since this story was mostly planned to be fluff, but got dark really fast and out of nowhere, the sequel will probably be more balanced.
> 
> \- Addict

A month later found Kaito standing in front of Conan's elementary school. The schoolyard was filled with children as they proceeded to walk home. His face was set into a pout as he tried to ignore the slight throb in his side. Thankfully, the stitches that Haibara had given him were holding pretty well despite all his restless movements. But, that wasn't the cause of his current mood.

"-should be more careful, Kuroba!" Saguru's face was pulled into a tight frown as he lectured the magician. "That man was very serious when he asked you to go out drinking!"

"The creep obviously had more than drinkin' on his mind. Did ya see the way he was lookin' at ya? He was practic'ly droolin'." Heiji butted in with a growl, clearly still steaming over the earlier incident. "Yer lucky we were there, Kuroba. He wasn' goin' ta take 'no' fer an answer."

His pout intensified into a light glare as he looked at his two friends. He despaired and rued the day that the two had decided to put aside their differences (for the most part as fights still weren't uncommon between the two) in the name of 'protecting' him. He also couldn't help but feel ashamed as he remembered the incident on the train ride here. Hattori had shown up early with Hakuba (probably under some secret plan with said blonde) at his doorstep on the morning he was supposed to have a check up with Haibara. Apparently, they both decided that he was incapable of picking up Shinichi on his own and had shown up to 'escort' him to the school. Begrudgingly, now that he looked back on the incident, Kaito knew that they had been right.

When they had gotten to the train stop, everything had been fine. He hadn't attracted any attention and the wait hadn't lasted very long before the train had pulled in. When they had boarded the crowded train, they had all taken seats close to the door so that they could get off the second they reached Beika. Halfway there, Hattori just happened to make a comment about a passing billboard that Hakuba had also seen. It had quickly deteriorated into an argument that Kaito tuned out as he rested his head against the glass. He didn't understand what they were arguing about so why listen, right?

Sadly, his rest didn't last very long.

Not long after he had finally relaxed, a shadow had formed over his head, blocking out the sunlight from the other side of the car. When he looked up, he had instantly tensed. A man, around thirty to thirty-five was leaning dangerously close to his face. His eyes roamed the teen's body, not even trying to hide the lust that resided there. He had looked Kaito over for a moment before moving his hand to try and cup Kaito's elbow, making the boy flinch away.

That's when it happened.

The man's face was suddenly replaced by one that was completely different. His eyes reddened until he looked like he hadn't slept for weeks and his face changed until it looked like he hadn't bothered to shave for even longer. His face was sunken in and he looked completely wasted, the perfect copy of _him_.

Suddenly, Kaito couldn't speak. He couldn't make a sound as that face drew closer until it was almost centimeters away. The sensation of the cushioned train seats was replaced with the hard feel of a brick wall. Kaito could feel his body freeze over as a nonexistent breeze chilled him to the bone. He was frozen. He was terrified.

"Don't worry, babe. I won't hurt ya." The man had a slight slur to his voice, although Kaito couldn't tell if it had been his own imagination or if he really was buzzed. "I'm a gentle lover. How about we go out for a couple of drinks. My treat." This time, his hand squeezed Kaito's wrist as panic wracked the magician's mind. This was bad! This was _really bad_! Not knowing what else to do, Kaito let out a small whimper, his frenzied mind refusing to cooperate with reason. He was Kaito Kid! He shouldn't be afraid of this man. So why was he trembling?

Taking his whimper as consent, the man had stood, attempting to drag Kaito towards the door. Kaito tried to resist, but his strength seemed to abandon him. However, before his would-be kidnapper could do anything, he suddenly went flying to the ground, almost knocking over an old woman.

Snapping his head towards his right, Kaito was greeted with the sight of a red faced Hattori. Steam was practically flying out of his ears as he stomped over to where the man had fallen, intent on giving the pervert a piece of his mind. Suddenly, Kaito found his face suddenly buried in black fabric. He tensed at first, expecting another pervert, but then heard a voice that sounded like heaven over the sound of the blood that was rushing through his ears.

"Kaito, calm down. You need to breathe."

It was then that he recognized the voice belonged to Hakuba. When had he started calling him by first name? Breathe? Was he not breathing? Was that why his lungs were burning? Was that why his vision was blurring?

"You're hyperventilating. You need to calm down and breathe or else you'll black out." Hakuba said. His voice was soft but firm, the kind that one used when they were trying to calm down a crying child. Strangely, instead of being able to be offended, Kaito found himself clinging to that voice. He tried to do what the blonde said and, after a moment, finally succeeded in calming his breathing down.

"That's good, Kaito." Hakuba said encouragingly. "Just breathe." Slowly, the trembling went away, leaving a mentally and emotionally exhausted phantom thief resting in the detective's arms. Where had that numbing fear come from?

Carefully, Saguru pulled away until he was looking Kaito straight in the eye. Kaito's eyes were half lidded with sudden lethargy and his breathing was slow and deep. But his eyes still looked misty, wet with unshed tears. "I knew it," he mumbled. "You have PTSD."

_Huh?_

Kaito watched as his friend's jaw clenched. That was never a good sign.

For the rest of the ride, Hakuba held Kaito close as Hattori kept an eye on the man. He had his phone to his ear as he talked with the police department with obvious venom in his voice. From what Kaito could make out, they would be waiting for them at their stop and would arrest the man as soon as the train pulled in. The rest was all a blur as they made their way to their destination.

By the time they reached the school, Kaito had been able to pull his Poker Face back into place. This seemed to upset both Hakuba and Hattori and lead to their current situation.

"Kaito-niichan!"

Spinning around (and hiding a wince as his side twinged) Kaito smiled brightly as he spotted his 'cousin' rushing towards him from the school. It took a little bit of dodging, but soon enough, Shinichi finally reached his friends. Not missing a beat, Kaito immediately swooped the detective into his arms. Shinichi always had a way of bringing Kaito back down to earth when he started freaking out (although it seemed that Hakuba had gained that ability as well; was Shinichi teaching him?).

Pushing the thought to the side, he gave Shinichi his best pout as he whined, "Co-chan! Haku-chan and Hattori are bullying me!" Smirking at his cousin's childish behavior, Shinichi countered with, "Well maybe if you could learn to turn off your little 'molester magnet', they would finally lay off." Pouting, Kaito turned away with an exaggerated huff. However, it didn't escape Shinichi's notice when his arms tightened around his waist.

Smiling sadly, the pseudo child raised his hand to Kaito's cheek, the familiar and comforting feeling causing Kaito to turn back to him. His eyes were dark with an emotion that clearly spoke volumes of his feelings. Trepidation, confusion, and even something that was unreadable. It wasn't anger or sadness, but it definitely wasn't caution. Was it paranoia? Was Kaito that scared that the event would repeat itself again if he dropped his guard even a little bit? The thought made something unpleasant unfurl in Shinichi's stomach.

Looking deep in Kaito's eyes, he tried to get his message across. "I swear Kai," he whispered, "that I will never let another pervert touch you again." The magician's eyes widened as he stared into bright tanzanite. The sound of agreement from the other detectives caused his jaw to drop. They really were going to stand up for him, keep the hands that he feared so much from ever coming into contact with him again. His eyes softened as his mouth curved into a grateful smile. He may have a very troublesome curse, but he had even greater friends to watch his back.

A thought suddenly came to Shinichi's mind as he remembered what they were there for. "Oi, Kaito. We need to hurry or else you're going to be late for your appointment. You know Haibara will kill us if you're late." Then he added, almost as an afterthought, "Again." Kaito found it in him to pout playfully, putting his puppy dog eyes to good use. He almost snickered when he saw Shinichi's eye twitch.

"If you go to the appointment, I'll let you eat the rest of that monstrosity you call a cake." This time, Kaito blushed as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. _If anyone saw him now_ , Shinichi thought, _he'd probably get jumped again_. The thief was just too cute for his own good. He and his fellow sleuths really had their work cut out for them.

"I already ate the last of it last week." Kaito admitted. Well darn, there went that plan. Mulling over his options, he smirked as he remembered something else that he knew the phantom wouldn't be able to resist. "Then how about ice cream. If you go, I'll treat you at Tetsuya-ojisan's place." Kaito immediately perked up at the sound of the elderly man's name. Ever since they had ice cream there after the Kendo Match Incident, Kaito had practically made it a tradition that they visit once a week. Sadly, this usually left Heiji out since he couldn't just fly down every week.

"What are we waiting here for?!"

That was the only warning Shinichi had before Kaito was suddenly rushing down the street. Behind them, he could hear Hakuba shouting something about slowing down and pulling stitches.

* * *

The streets bustled with activity as people rushed to and fro. It was the same routine as everyday. Nothing unusual.

Pulling around a corner, a black limousine pulled up in front of a large black tower. The tinted windows made it impossible to see inside as the driver exited the car, a man who looked to be in his late fifties. Walking around the front of the car, the elderly man opened the door at the very end as he bowed, both with respect and fear. He knew it was a bad idea to get on Sachō's bad side. Disrespecting him was an easy way to get on it.

As if oblivious to his employee's discomfort, a youthful and handsome young man stepped out of the car. His black business suit was perfectly pressed and his longish dark hair was jelled stylishly away from his face, his trusty umbrella by his side. Dark eyes stared ahead as he wore a confident grin on his mature features. He was the perfect image of a model that would make any girl swoon.

Instead of acknowledging his driver, the man made his way into the tower. The guards, big men who could pass for Americans, stood vigilant and firm. They bowed to their boss before returning to their watch. Entering the lobby, the man was greeted with the sight of his lovely secretary, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. Her blue eyes were sharp as she greeted her employer.

"Welcome back, Himuro-sachō."

Barely casting a glance towards his secretary, the CEO, Himuro Kazuto, made his way towards the elevator.

"W-Wait! Sachō! You have an appointment this afternoon."

He barely made a sound of acknowledgment as he called the elevator. She was going on to say something else, but by now, Himuro had blocked her out. When the doors finally opened, he immediately stepped inside and pressed the button for the top button.

He ignored how how the woman tried to get his attention and pulled out his phone once again, barely registering the doors closing. Despite all of his efforts, he had yet to figure out everything he could about the four boys he saw a month ago. Digging up information on the Brit and the hot headed one had been easy, but something was off about the other two.

He couldn't get anything on Edogawa Conan. He had used all of his resources, but the only thing he could find was the boy's transfer papers to his current school, his birth certificate, and his current residence. There was literally no other information on the boy, which was strange considering his age and his obvious intelligence. There should be all sorts of reports about a child genius, but his grades had, surprisingly, been pretty average and no one ever seemed to say anything about how smart the child was. It was like the boy was actually trying to hide how smart he was. But why?

There was also the problem with the mystery teen. Without a good look at his face, he was left in the dark about who he could be. Without any info, the brunette would remain a wild card. He had tried to find the teen for a couple of weeks, but it was like he had disappeared off the face of the earth.

The theory he created all those weeks ago resurfaced. They had all been crowded around the fourth boy with what could have been frantic concern. He also knew that, because of recent hospital reports, that a teenager hadn't been admitted with any wounds. What were they hiding? It was obvious, without any question, that the boy seemed to be the glue that held them all together. It was the only reason he could think of Hakuba Saguru, who lives all the way in Ekoda, coming to Beika for such frequent visits when he had literally next to no ties to Edogawa or Hattori. He hadn't found any files or pictures that proved that Hakuba and Edogawa even interacted outside of heists.

If he wanted to obtain those boys, he had to figure out more about them.

He forced himself to shake the thoughts aside when he realized that he was fast approaching the top floor. _Time really does fly when you're having fun_ , he thought idly. This challenge was just what he needed, but it would have to wait until after his appointment.

However, when he entered his penthouse office, a charming smile on his face, the last thing he expected was to find his older brother, Snake, waiting on his lush sofa. He dropped his calm and cool attitude, smiling slipping off his his face and a light scowl taking its place.

"And to what do I owe this visit, Aniki?"

The sarcasm in his voice was almost tangible.

Smirking like the irritating bastard that he was, Snake just relaxed against the couch. In a voice that practically oozed self confidence, he said, "Oh, nothing really. Just needed a new gun was all and thought that my generous baby brother might have something for me."

"And what, might I ask, became of the gun I gave for your last _failed_ attempt at getting rid of Kid-san?"

To Himuro's twisted delight, the smirk was wiped clean off of his older brother's face. He growls with a look of pure contempt on his face. "That doesn't matter," he said darkly. His voice had that dangerous edge to it that meant he was about to get violent.

"It would be better for you to be more careful, Aniki." Himuro was sure to let the condescension show in his tone. It was about time that Snake stopped acting all high and mighty and actually thought for once. "The higher ups are starting to get fed up with your incompetence and I may not be able to bail you out next time."

Quickly growing irritated with his brother's smugness and wishing to change the subject, Snake asked, "Whatever. What about that experiment of yours? That drug you guys were developing?"

Allowing the shift in direction, Himuro sighed. "Sadly, the test subject had to be disposed of." At Snake's confused expression, he continued, "It got loose a month ago and attacked a teenage girl." He ignored the man's shocked look as he went on. "The police even showed up! When I got there, I thought that I would be able to get some information from the test subject, but it was knocked out cold. It wouldn't wake up no matter what I did! Eventually, I just got rid of the body. Too much trouble. But I did let them find the girl."

He said all of this with a look of disappointment on his face. He had such high hopes for the experiment, but it ended up causing too much trouble.

"How did he even get loose?! I thought you had him under surveillance!" Snake was very surprised that the man had even gotten out. His brother had guards watching the guy twenty-four seven! How did he get out of containment?

"There are still many effects of the drug that we have yet to discover," Himuro said simply. "We don't know what happened since it killed the guards as well. We had planned to install cameras the next day, but it got away too soon."

"Are you going to drop the experiment and go back to apotoxin?"

Himuro actually scoffed at that. "I've actually decided to continue."

" _But why?!_ " Snake demanded. This was crazy! What if more of those freaks got loose and started to attack people? The Organization would be at risk!

"It was because of the experiment that I found something very interesting." Himuro turned and looked his brother in the eye, almost causing him to flinch away. The man's eyes were filled with intent. It was so intense that Snake actually felt a little sorry for whatever had caught his brother's attention.

"Do you know of Hakuba Saguru and Edogawa Conan?"

The sudden question caused Snake to blink. What was he getting into this time?

"I saw both of them along with Hattori Heiji and an unsub while I was looking for the experiment." His eyes were alight with interest as he prattled on. "They were the ones who found and defeated the test subject. It was truly remarkable. It was the gathering of the brightest young minds in the world! Do you know what this means?"

A look of wonder took over Snake's face as he watched his brother mumble to himself under his breath. This was the first time in years that he had seen something really catch his brother's interest to such an extent. When Himuro had first started in the yakuza as an information broker, he had been completely committed to his work. However, as time went on, he got better and better at his job until he eventually started to find it boring.

Then he decided to get mixed up in the Organization soon after Snake himself had joined and that look had returned to his eye. It didn't last long, however, when he mostly spent his time doing what he always did and gathered information on the Organization's targets. It was the same old routine, information, sleep, eat, bail Snake out again, and then the cycle would repeat itself and continue. Since he did his job so well, the higher ups favored him over most of the older members, but Himuro was actually planning to leave eventually. He had enough dirt on the Organization that if they tried to get rid of him, he could expose them to the entire world in less than a minute. He truly was a frightening man.

"So...," Snake started uneasily. "What does the fourth brat look like?" Might as well try and pretend to be interested before embarrassing pictures of him were sent to every single BO member across the world again. It took him three years to earn his respect back. Although others would argue he never had it to begin with.

Himuro hummed as he pulled up the mental picture of the teen again. "He was thin, but not unhealthily so and was of average height, if not a little on the tall side, and had longish brown hair. Sadly, I didn't get to see his face." He would bet his entire company that he had a beautiful face. He blinked at the unexpected thought.

Oblivious to his brother's inner struggle, Snake tried to think if he knew anyone with that type of profile. A teen with a thin form that hung around detectives? After a moment, he suddenly remembered seeing a boy with brown hair arguing with Hakuba Saguru at a heist. With a sinister grin he turns back to his brother, who was pacing a grove into the floor.

"I know where you can find _all_ of those boys."

Himuro froze and turned to give his brother a look. The kind that read 'if you're lying, I will disembowel you'. Those boy's were so screwed.

"I'll only tell you if you agree to give me a new gun."

 _Didn't see that coming_ , Himuro though sarcastically. But if he didn't agree, he'd have to wait for who knew how long until he finally found something. But if Himuro had one weakness, it was that he was impatient when it came to getting what he wanted, especially information. The last thing he needed was something going on in his turf and not knowing what it was.

Definitely so if it involved the brightest minds in modern times gathering in his city. While it was indeed very interesting, it was just as dangerous. Especially if they had that wild card on their side.

With a defeated sigh he caved in and said, "Fine, I'll get you your stupid gun."

Snake smirked. He knew his brother would give. After all, his greatest weapon was also his greatest weakness. "Well, it just so happens, dear brother of mine," at this Himuro glared, but Snake ignored him, "that I've actually seen Hakuba, Edogawa, and that mystery teen of yours at heists quite often." A gleam entered Himuro's eyes, letting Snake know that he definitely had his attention now. "If all of the detectives are starting to get all chummy, the chances that all of them will show up has definitely increased."

Just as Snake expected, Himuro took the bait. "So you know who the boy their hanging out with is?" He scoffed. "Of course I do! It's kind of hard not to." The glare returned to his brother's face with a vengeance. That was never a good thing. "His name is Kuroba Kaito, the son of our very own Kuroba Toichi." The glare disappeared and was quickly replaced with a look of surprise.

To say that Himuro was nonplussed about the teen being the son of their current target would be the understatement of the century. But, that meant that if he was the son of _the_ Kuroba Toichi himself, the master of disguise with a ridiculously high IQ and who spoke several different languages, was it possible that the boy was also a genius? The genetics were definitely there. He also had to wonder if the boy knew who his father was. Did he know his father was running around at night or did he still think his father was dead?

Deciding that he would be finding out soon enough, he turned back towards the elevator and pulled out his cellphone. He had an appointment to make with a certain architect first.

Behind him, he heard his brother squawk, "Oi! We made a deal! Where's my gun?!"

Not bothering to turn around, Himuro dug his hand into his suit pocket and pulled out a plain looking remote. Pressing the red button, the only one on it, the sounds of heavy doors sliding opening filled the room. The wall to the left of the desk and right across from the couch split open like a garage door. Beyond the hidden door was a room filled with every type of gun ever created. They covered the walls and sat on display cases that barely left any room to walk.

He didn't have to look back to know that his brother's jaw had hit the floor, but he did smirk when he heard a low whistle.

"Take more than one and I'll cut your hands off."

Snake shuddered at the sickly sweet tone his brother used. He was being dead serious. How was he even related to such a psychopath?

Once he was alone in the elevator, Himuro let himself think over the one piece of information that he never told his idiotic brother. That day on the streets, when he saw the boy's unconscious form in Hakuba's arms, he had felt a strange sensation come over him. It was like his heart was suddenly beating twice as fast and his eyes couldn't tear away from that lithe body. He had felt the overwhelming urge to just reach out and take the teen for himself. He had wanted to possess him.

He let a amused grin come to his face.

Soon, that would become a reality.

* * *

On the other side of Beika, Kaito shuddered.

"Jeez, Kaito," Shinichi laughed from his seat next to him. "Calm down on that ice cream before you freeze yourself from the inside out." Kaito turned to look at his cousin's shrunken face. His eyes were alight with warmth and he had a huge smile that threatened to split his face in half. Across the table, Hakuba and Hattori were trying to hide their snickering, but were failing miserably.

"R-Right."

He couldn't bring himself to tell them that the sudden chill in his veins had nothing to do with the ice cream. He didn't want to ruin this.

Taking his chocolate ice cream into his plastic spoon, he dipped it onto Shinichi's nose. He laughed when the boy have a yelp at the sudden cold and quickly tried to wipe it of with a napkin. The other boys, along with Tetsuya-ojisan (who was still standing at the kiosk next to their table), erupted with laughter.

Kaito smiled as he took in his friend's smiling faces and Shinichi's false threats.

_No, he didn't want to ruin this._

* * *

 

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Holy mackerel! This took forever! 
> 
> I kind of hit a road bump while trying to write this chapter. It was really hard to try and portray the relationship between Himuro and Snake. I tried to go for Himuro believing himself to be above his brother and always trying to one up him. He tries to make sure that Snake knows that he could just as easily leave his brother to be killed if he gets on his bad side, a fact that Snake obviously remembers very well.
> 
> The beginning scene was to show that Kaito didn't come out of the Alley Incident unscathed. While he came out with only stab wound physically, it messed with him psychologically. I know the feeling of being pinned against something while the other person's intentions weren't exactly pure. I still can't stand to be pinned today, even if the other person was just playing. But, that's what happens when a crazy woman is trying to choke you to death, right? Whatever.
> 
> The point is that the resulting trauma makes it so that Kaito goes back to that moment whenever someone gets a little pushy with trying to touch him or gets too close to his face without his consent. How will he deal with it now?
> 
> Drop me a review and let me know what you guys think! Don't hold back with ideas for the sequel!
> 
> \- Addict

**Author's Note:**

> So that is the end of chapter. The competition starts by the next chapter. Let me know what you guys feel about this chapter. Was it any good? Bad pacing? Too quick? Too Slow? Did I do Hattori's accent wrong? This story is mainly so that I can stop downplaying Hattori's role whenever I write him in a story that involves all the Gosho Boys together. I usually leave him out and only realize it later when I've already finished the story.
> 
> You guys can also let me know what challenges you think that Hattori would try to give Kaito? A sport? Maybe a trip back to Osaka for some baseball? Too far away? Plus I know absolutely nothing about Osaka...
> 
> Maybe something should happen during these challenges that helps change Hattori's mind about Kaito? Conan gets kidnapped? Kaito himself gets into some kind of trouble? Hattori sees how Kaito acts when no one else is around? When should I introduce Hakuba? Let me know what you guys think and drop a review! So until next time...
> 
> See you next illusion.
> 
> (KID Doodle)


End file.
